Inlustris - a destiny fanfiction
by dmackay1981
Summary: Some Guardians turn to the dark. They must be stopped. They must be killed. This is my duty. This is my confession.


chapter one "zero sum game"

Don't die.

Not here. Not like this.

Where I can't bring you back.

The sun is falling. Wind pushes smoke through twilight, beautiful dark shapes form and dance and vanish. The crackle of fire. Broken trees and bodies of Fallen, the terrible scar in the ground where the ketch had come down burning and ploughed through us.

And you.

Silent and still below me.

This frozen scene, a single frame.

The art of war.

I see it all, process the data. That's all it really is, without a life to feel. Information. The ceaseless torrent of input, sparkling for those who can read it.

... . . .signalfail...

I wonder if your eyes are still open. Can't tell through the helmet. Doesn't matter of course. Their reinforcements are closing in, approaching the tree line to the north. Cautious now. They hadn't expected such a fierce counterattack, not from a lone guardian. They won't be caught out again.

You need to get up.

... .functionality19%. . . ...

I remember.

I remember when I first found you. The ice morning sky, wind, movement of the grass were like the start of a song, something I had never felt before. That moment. The edge of something. An unbalanced equation, output greater than input. This was living, to see your eyes open and know I had brought you back.

In time you repaid the favour, gave me a life I never thought possible. It sounds stupid I know, I would have disdained the use of such a nonsensical phrase beforehand but not now. Through every battle, every mission, alone together we ran that line between life and death. The perfect balancing act, warrior angels perched on gravestones. You gave me an understanding of why I was here. My tenuous link to this world became iron, no longer a little light but a ghost with a guardian.

I realised humanity was meant to go to the stars. And you were so close. You can do it again, we can do it together. More than just survival.

Those stars, calling out to us with their light through the night sky. We saw them as we took refugees to the city. We saw them as we fled the Hellmouth. I can see them now. They gave us hope. Belief in a future.

Our destiny.

Why am I thinking of these things now? No time for this. I've been damaged, I think. Yes. That last barrage of fire. I can't focus. Process. I can't.

Don't leave me alone again.

... . .ltmem4729384569956988569(876597). . . . . .signalfail...

Another memory.

Many years, now. Long ago, even for us.

Ghosts don't sleep, of course. Or I would have dreamt about it, I think. Had nightmares about it.

The desert plain, past the shade of those cliffs, the boiling heat and dust that clung to us both. You had fought off dozens already. The sun beating down, a relentless fire in the sky. Your rifle was broken in half, smashed to pieces across the back of the last vandals neck. I saw you slide down to your knees in the sand, gasping for breath, the bloodied stump of your left arm hanging by your side. When you had picked up what was left of the limb and caved in that captains skull with it even the Fallen looked surprised. I had never seen anything like it. You were wild, fearless. Crazed.

How did you lose that arm?

What's wrong with me?

I can't remember.

Something important. I know.

Yes.

We had been moving in the shadows of the cliffs with a dozen survivors, families, unarmed and afraid. Trying to stay out of sight. The Fallen knew we were close, they were already blocking comms. It was hopeless. With their air support it was only a matter of time until they spotted us. And when they did it was only seconds until we were under fire.

Yes.

I remember now...

... .cleaning...

...I remember...

...Threat assessment. Class c1 skiff north west, closing from 6000 metres 200 metre elevation. Marking target and tracking. 30 ground troops north north west, closing from 500 metres, estimated time to optimal firing range 6 seconds. Marking targets and tracking. 2c8v18d2s standard formations. 5 miles to suitable cover, eta with survivors 2 hours. Escape unfeasible. Setting killzone markers, perimeter established. 3 seconds to enemy contact in kill zone. Assess defensive capabilities. Insufficient cover. Scout rifle 197 rounds. Shotgun 21 shells. Laucher 2 shells. Grenades charged and ready. Supplementary combat options charged and ready. 1 second to contact. Incoming fire. Contact. Target flag mark 2.3...

The crack of your rifle, three quick shots and you drop back into cover.

...Target down. Tracking. Incoming fire from skiff. Stay in cover. Tell the people to get closer and have your bubble ready. Target flag 3.3, target flag 3.5...

You are back up, shots hammering out.

...Targets down, one kill one tagged. Good shooting guardian. Target flags, 1.0 through 1.4 and 5.1 through 5.5. Grenades, use them...

The skiff is firing again, a piece of shrapnel tears at your shoulder as you loose the grenades but I don't think you even notice. Their thunder echoes back through the cliffs, drowning out the screaming of the children behind us.

...Incoming fire, bubble now now now...

You throw it up, the wall of light a blue fire around us. The civilians not already inside rush forward, one injured. You check the wound as enemy fire crashes against your light, blocking out the world. They are terrified but you are calm, resolute. You load your rifle, back to the enemy as you scan the survivors for any more injuries. Avoiding their eyes. You know they can't make it, don't you? Running out of time here, only seconds till our shield falls. "Get ready to move," you tell them, "north against the cliff face. Stay in cover." The skiff is pounding at us with everything it has. You stare up at it, unflinching, the civilians in your shadow. My guardian.

...if you're going to do something brilliant this would be a good time...

"Move. Now." You swing the launcher down from your back and roll forward out of the bubble in a single movement, too fast for the skiff. The second rocket is away by the time the first strikes, left side, clean impact on the engine housing. A howl of tortured metal and the craft is spinning, out of control, spitting flames and wreckage. The blast has knocked us both backwards and the Fallen are too quick, rushing in with shockblades ready. 2 vandals 2 dregs. The first vandal slams a blade into your thigh before you can recover, the dregs rushing past after the families. You see them and energy surges through you again, rising to your feet, an open palm into the vandals throat smashes it back against the wall. You hold it there and draw your shotgun as the other closes in. Its blades knock the barrel away as you fire, the first still struggling in your grasp, slashing at you with the remaining blade. You spin the shotgun and strike the second across the jaw, staggering it back, a split second and you crash your head into the pinned vandal, helmet casing splitting its skull apart down the centre. A hundred yards away the skiff comes down, tearing into the rock and coming apart with a deafening roar. You drop the vandals body and roll back, firing from the hip with the shotgun and wounding the other. In your other hand your rifle is out and you fall to your knees to steady yourself. Shotgun on the vandal. Rifle on the two dregs. Dust billows from the downed ketch and flows blinding around us. Firing. Firing. Vandal is down. The dust is clearing. One of the dregs too. The second is only wounded but you are back on your feet already. The blade is out of your leg and in your hand and then in the dregs back.

... Tracking. Target flag 3.1. Grenades are up...

You toss one back to buy us a few seconds.

...Leave the launcher. You're wounded but its nothing. Re-establishing perimeter. Killzone flags reset to fallback position. We've lost two of the civilians...

"I know. Give me targets, ghost."

...Target flags 1.1, 1.6, 2.5, 5.3, 5.5. In range...

I see the rifle barrel glint in the sun, shots ringing out again and...

... . ...

We lost them all, didn't we? One at a time. Burned or cut down.

Until there were only two left. The boy and his mother. This memory like a wound. It has bled. It has festered and it has left a scar. I will always feel it.

One of the captains, two dregs and a vandal were left. The boy was a few feet behind us, his mother off to the right in cover, bleeding, eyes on her child. You dropped the last bubble you could, even for you the pain becoming unbearable. Too many broken bones, too many open wounds. Too much blood lost to the dry ground.

A volley from the captains shrapnel launcher struck the bubble a second later. The remaining fallen howled, spreading out. I saw the pop of readied grenades. We had been lucky too many times. No escape now. The boy was still screaming for his father but the man was long dead, picked apart like a fly by the dregs a mile back. I was damaged, cloaking disabled, struggling to stay afloat. I knew you had nothing left. Just a matter of time.

I saw the woman too late. She had ran from cover, desperate to reach her son, staggering across the open ground. In reality it was only a few seconds but when I play it back I run it a frame at a time, scanning every image for hours. I don't know why. The dregs see her. She is twenty feet away. The boys eyes are closed and I am thankful for this small mercy in his pain. They throw their grenades, I see them looping forward. She is ten feet away when you spot her, realise what is happening. You are too slow. We were both too slow. When she is 5 feet away you reach out through the bubble for her, left arm exposed through the light. The grenades strike the ground, bouncing up against the shield. You grab her arm, look into her eyes.

The next moments are difficult to recall, the data poor or nonexistent. The detonation had thrown you back, arm gone. The bubble had dropped, enemy fire raining in. The boy was dead. I was hit again and tried to shelter behind you. It was all I could do.

You were on your knees, staring at the childs body as the captain moved in to finish us. Then you reached for the bloodied stump of your arm.

Get up guardian.

As broken as you were the others didn't stand a chance, not against that fury.

And then there was silence.

Time passed. Minutes, maybe hours. I could hear your breathing now, heavy and ragged.

It would have been over then. A terrible story. Defeat and death and failure. It should have been over. But then we both saw them.

A mile in the distance, more survivors. Families trying to escape the fighting in the East. Two more Skiffs were closing on them, dots on the horizon but growing fast. There was nothing we could do. I was barely operational, if you died I couldn't resurrect you. You could hardly stand. We couldn't save them. I had called the ship, it was safe enough to bring it in now. But you wouldn't go, you wanted to get to the civilians. It was crazy, hopeless. I tried to tell you but you just kept repeating it. "We have to get to them, ghost. We have to get to them." I transmatted us to the ship and locked in a course for the city. You were only semi-conscious but you screamed, a sound like I had never heard before. I told you, it was suicide to go back for them. We had no comms, no support. It was suicide. You passed out, hit the floor. We got back to the tower and I dropped us in the courtyard, desperate for help. When you regained consciousness you struggled to your feet and struck me so hard I flew backward past Tess' stunned face. Other guardians surged in and held you back until you collapsed again. You wouldn't let me anywhere near you. The next morning Zavala came to see you at our quarters. I waited outside. After that I could be in the room with you but you wouldn't look at me. Wouldn't speak.

And that's how it began. Two years of silence.

6 months had passed. A dozen missions. Still you wouldn't talk to me. You would hardly look at me. I spoke to Zavala, explained again what happened in the desert. He said I had done the right thing. That defeat could be hard to take and you would get over it with time. But that time passed and nothing changed.

So I spoke to Ikora. She thought for a moment then said Zavala was right, we couldn't afford to lose anymore guardians after what had happened on the moon. I had done the right thing. More time.

I was desperate. I would have to be to speak to Cayde. I didn't expect much more than a joke but he listened. Laughed at that part about your arm. When I told him how we fled though his eyes turned cold and he raised his hand to cut me off.

"You done what?" his voice sharp, "Zavalas reply, I understand. But I thought Ikora had more sense."

He was shaking his head, as much I think now in surprise as disappointment.

"Those hopeless times are why we need the guardians, ghost. A frame wouldn't go back for those people. A ghost clearly wouldn't. A guardian has to go back for those people, even if it is just to die alongside them. Going back wasn't just the right thing it was the only thing, you understand? Guardians can handle a defeat, ghost. But that wasn't defeat. It was surrender."

He stared at me, holding the silence. Holding me in his eyes.

"Where did you find your guardian? The first time I mean. On one of the refugee paths to the city?"

"I...y, yes. How did you know? I never told y-"

He raised his hand again.

"You don't understand, ghost. You'll say you do, but you'll be lying."

That night I spoke to you in our room. It had been so long my voice sounded strange, alien in the space between us.

I told you what Cayde said, how I understood now.

Of course, I was lying.

You sat across from me, mute as always, staring at the door. I wasn't even sure you had heard me. Then you rose, walked out of the room. I followed. It was night, we went through the tower to the rear courtyard. There was no one to see us except that broken Frame. You climbed over the edge and slid down to the foothills. Walked for hours into the mountains. We were out of sight of the Tower. Were you going to strike me again? I didn't know. I was afraid but I had no choice, this was my only chance to get you back. Finally you stopped at the lip of another valley. You faced me, the sun cresting the horizon in the distance. You pulled a grenade, staring at me, snapped it live and stuck it to your chest.

"What are you doing!"

I pulled back, panicked. The grenade detonated, the sound echoing around the valley walls. I brought you back as fast as I could. It was crazy, there were Fallen in this area, we couldn't stay. You got to your feet and while I was babbling at you to get moving you flicked another grenade to life and stuck it to your chest again. I was in a panic, desperate, confused. It detonated. I brought you back and you done it a third time, the heat light and noise pushing me back, searing my shell. The ground was stained black, burned of life. Again I brought you back. Again the grenade.

"Stop! I understand, I do!" I lied.

Resurrection, grenade.

It hurt me every time as much as it hurt you and you knew it.

Resurrection, grenade.

Resurrection.

"Stop it. Please. Please stop."

You paused, grenade in hand, eyes on me.

Then you tossed it aside and stepped forward, shaking, voice breaking.

"Those people in the desert didn't get another chance, ghost. Those children don't get to come back."

There were tears in your eyes. I had never seen you cry.

"We were their chance. I was. And we betrayed them. We left them to die."

I thought again about where I had found you, on the refugee trail. Hundreds had died there, thousands. Helpless. Alone.

"Never again."

After that night it was just a matter of time. A word here or there. A few months later it was as if it had never happened.

I had brought you back.

... . . . .signalfail...

Ghosts, just memories of something lost.

I remember Twilight Gap.

Your helmet was cracked, I knew your ribs were broken.

A haze in the air, the fading smoke and echoes from our gun emplacements. The moments in the chaos where we stopped to breathe and saw birds in the sky. The fire from the spider tanks, so many, hundreds lined on the hills with the colours of the three Fallen houses. Thundering impacts, shattered stone flying from all sides. Blood and fire and bodies.

That hunter, the beautiful fool, had died beside us, his ghost broken at his feet. We saw the next wave of Fallen and knew it meant death. You never said a word. Just started loading shells into your shotgun. You were breathing fast, hands shaking with adrenaline.

How many waves had we survived now? How many guardians had fallen. We were all that was left in this sector. One of the shells, slippery with blood, fell from your fingers and rolled away. You left it and kept loading.

We both heard the order come through, crackling on the comms. On an open channel, to everyone left defending the Gap. Zavalas voice. The last order a Titan ever recieves.

"Stand your ground, guardians."

The falling sun cast our shadows long and cold behind us.

It was beautiful.

They were in range now and they opened up with everything they had, a cacophony of screams and gunfire. You stood over the hunters body, raised your eyes to meet them. There were so many targets, so many projectiles even I was struggling to track them. You threw up the bubble at the last possible instant. I didn't think we would make it but I knew it wasn't over. Not yet. You crushed the first dregs skull with your fist. They had charged in, overconfident, seeing you wounded and thinking us beaten. Slammed the next back from the bubble with your right foot, spun the shotgun up and dropped another. They were swarming around us, a sea of grasping arms and wild eyes. Stuck a grenade to another and pushed him out into the crowd. Slammed your head back into a vandals jaw, a blinding explosion from the grenade and your shotgun rung out again. Another fell, then another. The captains were moving in now, shockblades glistening in the fading light. The bubble wouldn't last much longer.

And then we heard Shaxx.

... . . . ...

All I will be is a memory of you left behind. Just another ghost, only smoke in the twilight.

I won't go back to the tower without you. I'll stay. I'll stay and die beside you if I have to. Because now I understand.

It took me so long to find you. And I've watched you every moment of my life since. Since my life really began. You are why I exist. Why I am here. And I can't leave you now.

I imagine the face of the speaker, if I went back alone.

"Where is your guardian, ghost?"

"I lost her."

... . . . . .centralprocessingcomprimised...

Grab that shotgun and get up.

Get on your feet guardian.

Please.

Please get up.

... .hullintegrity29%. . . . . . ...

I remember that boy, screaming for his father and there are no words for this.

This Darkness.

... .accessdenied."why dont you talk about it ghost, the darkness?"..."Because we can't."...

Don't give up on me.

Don't give up on us.

Get on your feet and fight.

One last time. Let me bring you back.

... . 2%breachbreachbreach...

The stars are calling us.

... ...

chapter 2 "Symphony"

... contact initiated . negotiating with host . assessing firewalls . fault line marking initiated . running siege protocols . manufacturing breach . accessing . manufacturing authorisation . accepted . zeropointlevel access . searching security logs . d12122312t1204ltowerwestunit19 . replay file . interrogation subject1 . designation GH"Diz" . voicefile ready . initiate playback ...

"Where do I begin?"

... identify . designation GT "Zavala" . tag identity "Z" ...

"Depends what you want to talk about. Is Cayde here?"

... identify . designation GH "Diz" (subject1) . tag identity "D" ...

Z : "Two guardians are dead. Four crewmembers of the cargo ship Dawn Hush. An unauthorised combat mission carried out on Mars. And you Diz, there every time. Awol from duty. Ignoring comms. Then you reappear this morning, in the tower. Breaking into Executor Hideos quarters. I need an explanation, guardian."

... hold playback . analysing background noise . accessing building schematics . analysing acoustics . rendering acoustic model . filtering . result 97% probability . 6 individuals present . 2 seated . 4 on perimeter . accessing security traffic logs . identifying . temptag identities U1,U2,U3,U4 . resume playback ...

D : "That's funny, Zavala. When did I ever get what I needed from you? Never mind what I wanted. If it helps you sleep tonight I didn't kill the crew of that ship. They were long dead when I found them. So was that warlock, Lyssa. That was her name, wasn't it?"

Z : "Yes. That was her name."

D : "As for the other warlock on Mars, Tarrat I think he called himself. Didn't give me much choice, to be fair. Technically it would have to be classed as a suicide. Can I speak to Cayde?"

... hold playback . voice stress analysis . pulling files for comparison . running . result (88 percent certainty subject believes statement to be true) . continue background process . resume playback ...

Z : "Jokes, guardian? What do you think is happening here?"

D : "I don't know Zavala. Either everything's funny, or nothing is. Option one has more appeal. I'm not awol. I'm running an op, under orders, but other guardians keep trying to kill me. Now here I am, being interrogated like a criminal. You have to laugh, don't you? Well. Maybe not you."

Z : "Who gave you this mission? Running unsanctioned ops from my tower?"

D : "You know I won't tell you that. How can I trust you now, Commander? How can I trust anyone here? It wasn't Cayde though if that's what you're thinking. Where is he, anyway? I would have thought he would have come to see me, at least. I mea- "

Z : "Quiet. No more games, Diz. You are the only suspect in these crimes. I need to know what's going on and you're going to tell me. Truth, guardian. Why won't your ghost submit to a memory read?"

D : "He's always been stubborn. Plus ... I told him not to."

... hold playback . voice stress analysis . pulling files for comparison . running . results inconclusive . continue background process . resume playback ...

Z : "You told him not to? Then how do you intend to prove your innocence?"

D : "Oh, well... I don't, I suppose. I intend to escape."

...background noise . identify . laughter(?) . U3(?)...

Z : "You are in the heart of the tower. Your weapons and ship have been confiscated. I have 4 titans in this room who will be watching your every move. You're going nowhere, Diz."

... analysing . 62% likelihood untrue . query? . situational logic error . analysing ...

D : "We'll see. Look Commander, I don't have all day. Places to be and all that. Do you want to know what happened or not? I'll tell you what I can if it puts a smile on that big angry face of yours. Might be a little hard to believe, though."

Z : "Try me."

D : "Fair enough. But I know you. And you won't like what you hear. That ship, The Dawn Hush, had gone dark. I went to find out why."

Z : "At whose request?"

D : "Really? I've told you already, you'll get what I can give. I've long exhausted the little trust I had in the Consensus. I ran the op at the request of a friend, to repay a favour. That will have to do for now. I'd rather speak to Caybe but...? No. Well. Back to it. The ship was drifting, damaged. Hard to find with no comms signals, floating in the asteroid belt. Like I said, the crew and the guardian were already dead when I went aboard. No-one else was there."

Z : "If you didn't kill them then who did?"

D : "I don't know. Not yet. There wasn't much to work with in the way of clues."

... 98% likelihood truth ...

Z : "You didn't find anything?"

D : "I didn't say that. I said there wasn't much."

Z : "Then what was there, Diz?"

D : "Only the music, Zavala. Only the music."

... hold playback ...

Have you listened to it? I told you there was only a voicefile. Yes. Then you know I'm telling you the truth. The Dawn Hush? Why do you need me to tell you about the ship? You know more about it than I do. Alright. Alright. No. No, of course I don't want that. You don't have to do that. Yes, I understand. I will. I know. Everything. Everything I know.

Go back.

This is The Dawn Hush, two weeks before.

This is where it begins.

Here, adrift between the stars. There are secrets here. A tale among the bodies.

The ship turns slowly on its axis, powerless, spinning in the black. Once it was a cargo ship headed to the reef, alive with light and motion and crew. Now it is little more than salvage.

Now it is a tomb.

Sunlight glints on its surfaces, shadows moving over the shaped metal, across the hull shielding and wings for atmosphere. Across the faction markings of Dead Orbit. Tiny fragments of dust and debris spark in the light around it. Look closer. There is damage here. Scarring from weapons fire.

Time passes. The scene changes.

A new player. Another ship, smaller, sleek and dark it slips through the debris field. This one is called The Blade Itself. A guardians ship, though few in the tower know its name. It closes the distance in the blink of an eye and pulls alongside the larger vessel. The docking port lights come alive.

Now there is movement at the connection between them. Inside the extended umbilical, a guardian and her ghost.

This is Diz.

A hunter, plainly clothed in dark red and black. She advances, crouched and alert. Where she pauses your eyes can lose her for a second, that dull cloak and hood fading against the background. They conceal a simple trick, nanofilaments distorting the light, blurring her edges. She is moving again, a languidity to this motion, a misleading nonchalance. It is another feint, of course. A learned skill to put opponents off guard, buying that vital instant. Her smooth gait has always been deceptively quick, belying her intent. Like a whip, paused in the upswing, ready to crack. There is a pistol in her right hand. It is one of a kind.

She has been ordered to this place but she does not know why or what she will find.

There is a story here.

This is where it begins.

"Anything?"

... I told you, nothing. No life signs. No heat signatures. No movement. Minimal internal power, likely emergency life support running from a battery backup. The ships dead, Diz ...

"Maybe. But caution is our watchword tonight, ghost. When did we ever do something as stupid as running a blind op in enemy territory? And there is something very wrong about all of this, don't you think?"

... I'm not disputing that. But there is a marked difference between caution and paranoia. Also, as you pointed out, the Cabal own this area. We are on the clock. The longer we stay the greater our risk of being spotted. We were lucky to slip through their perimeter as it was. And it's 13.56."

"I...wait, what?"

... you said "tonight". It is demonstrably not, on Standard time ...

"Okay. As always, thankyou for your input. Crack the seal on the next airlock. Anytime today will be fine."

Her ghost rose and sped to the next junction, a brief light in the dark of the corridors. Diz watched the stabbing, rotating flashes of blue between her companion and airlocks interface. The light flashed around them, reflecting on the black and grey steel of the hull. She edged forward, sighting her weapon on the opening.

But...why me?

Her own words, just a day before.

Any one of a hundred guardians could take this mission. Or even better a fireteam. Anyone who knows me knows I've never had any interest in faction affairs. I've never taken allegiance with any of them. I've never even ran a bounty for them. I don't like them. They really, really don't like me.

Exactly, she was told.

Her ghost was speaking again, a voice she knew as well as her own.

...those docking panels were carrying some damage. The Blade has taken a few scratches in the link up. Miss Holliday will not be happy...

"Ah, Amanda. She's the perfect woman, you know. Have I told you that, ghost?"

... 23 times. Not including this time ...

"Well, its true. I think I'm in love with her."

... No, you don't and you're not. And even if you were, she hates you...

"It hurts me to hear you say that ghost. Hurts deep."

... No. It doesn't. Which is one of the myriad of reasons why you are nearly universally disliked. You don't care about other people. Other guardians. Or the tower, the traveller. Nothing the rest of us do ...

"You wouldn't have anyone else though, would you ghost?"

... I would, actually. Almost anyone else ...

"Ghost."

... In fact, our time together has made me look on my decades alone with a certain fondness. I think - ...

"Ghost, enough. I get it. Next corridor."

The ship was still rotating as they moved through the dark. In the silence Diz stepped from floor to wall, wall to roof.

... the artificial gravity systems have lost their horizon lock ...

"Yes. Spotted that, oddly enough. Can you use the thrusters on The Blade to stabilise it?"

...I should be able too. Calculating. We should be steady in 30 seconds...

"What's the next area?"

... cargo bay. Opening now...

She stepped to the floor, exhaled, watched the door slide back down the sight of her weapon.

This time there was light ahead, the blood red of emergency lights pulsing through thin metallic smoke. She knew that taste in air. Residue from fusion fire. Burnt flesh and bone. Memories rising from the dark.

you murdered us

"What did you say?"

...I didn't say anything Diz. Are you alright?...

No. Not here.

...what did you hear?...

"Nothing. It was nothing. Let's move."

...Diz?...

"I said I'm fine. Go. On the clock, remember?"

...Diz...

"We can talk about it later. Move."

They passed through the entryway into the cargo hold, her ghost rising to view the room, Diz tight to the wall. She could make out shapes now in the half light. Crates and equipment. Damaged panels and fixtures.

Bodies.

...three of the crew. Scanning. They don't appear to have been killed by direct weapons fire. Two by flying debris, the other from indirect void burn. There's a console here that still has some functionality. Accessing ...

As the ghost worked, the guardians eyes fell on the corpses. Still and cold. One twisted in pain. A single eye, dry and pale, stared back. The other had been burnt from its socket. Nothing now, she thought, just meat. Just shapes on a floor. Keep moving. Don't look back.

The lights flickered around them.

That eye.

What did it see?

...got something...

Diz snapped back to the scene, pulling her gaze away from the dead.

Focus, guardian.

...some manifest detail. They were transporting two high value packages, unmarked storage. The first was three metres long but the other specs are lost or corrupted. The second was much smaller, a half metre cube. They were both loaded on Venus. No destination logged. The information cell is present and clean, there just hasn't been anything inputted. Definitely Dead Orbit, I recognise some of the coding language. Can't get anything else from here. All the hard connections to other areas have been cut. There was clearly an intense firefight. The weapons scarring and debris patterns would suggest it started - ...

"Here."

Diz had crossed the room and climbed on top of one of the containers. She perched over an opening in the case, peering inside as her ghost approached. Except for the heavily padded interior panels it was hollow. Collapsed alongside, torn apart by weapon fire, was a dead Frame.

"Unmarked. 3 metres long. And open. This could be our first package from Venus. But I don't see anything that matches the description of the second."

...no, it definitely isn't here. Neither are the contents of that, whatever they were. As for the Frame, ID tags on the chassis flag it as Dead Orbit, standard medical unit, relatively common on crewed vessels like this one. The neural cortex is too heavily damaged to extract anything coherent. The next area on the way to the bridge is the mess hall. This way...

They advanced again. The ghosts pale light illuminated the exit.

...well, this isn't good...

The alloy door, framing and section of wall around the lock had been torn away. The main body of debris lay on the other side, buckled and broken beyond recognition.

"Glorious. This gets better by the second. It looks like a ketch went through it."

...admittedly, the scene indicates, physically at least, rather formidable opponents. No need to worry yet though...

"Yet?"

...indeed. All we have observed so far are simply points of evidence, individual facets which could have any number of meanings. We require more data to see a pattern. One point does stand out though...

"Well? Don't keep me in suspense."

...there is no evidence of use of any type of weapon other than those which would have normally been aboard. If this was cabal, vex, hive or fallen then they were unarmed. Which is frankly absurd. The medical Frame was also destroyed by projectile fire consistent with that of the sidearms carried by the crew...

"They destroyed their own Frame?"

...I didn't say that. I said their weapons were used...

A narrow gangway led on to the mess hall. As before, the walls were streaked with fusion burns and the ragged marks of projectile fire. Diz felt herself drawn forward, a familiar grip in her chest, pulling her into the black, another edge, another fall, down to the inevitable end.

It doesn't have to be this way. More voices, rising from memory. In another time, in another place, these steps are through golden fields under sun.

Hold on.

They passed through.

...Diz...

Like the cargo hold there were signs of fighting. A little light, a little smoke. Trails of blood on the floor led to another body.

...It's a guardian Diz. One of us...

In the far doorway, on her back. An Awoken. A warlock.

A guardian.

In a second they were by the body, Diz crouched, ghost above.

...we're too late. There's no light here. Her face, Diz...

"I know."

The warlocks helmet lay broken across the floor, hammered away by the same blows which had caved in her skull. What remained of a metal orb nestled in the blood and shattered bone.

...that's her ghost...

"I see it. I see it. This is wrong, all of this. Vex, Cabal, Hive, Fallen. Nothing fits. To beat a lone guardian to death with their own ghost. Kill the crew. Then... leave? Without a trace? What was so valuable in those two packages? And if it was so valuable why wasn't it better guarded? And why leave this scene behind? Leave the cargo, the weapons, the bodies. Why not take them? Why not take the ship? It's senseless."

...I can't get anything from her ghost, not here anyway. The best I can do is an ID. Lyssa Arret, warlock in good standing with both Dead Orbit and the Vanguard. Accessing her records...

"Lyssa? I know that name. Have we met her before?"

...Yes we have. A Hakke testing event at the tower. You were drunk. It was an acutely embarrassing night, even by your standards...

"Ah. Nobodys perfect, ghost."

...Indeed. Her file makes interesting reading. She was intelligent, extremely so for a biological. Specialized in communications encryption. The last two years she has been with the same fireteam, two other warlocks, all Dead Orbit. Abdel Tarrat and Petr Song. The three of them have been close since they fought together at Twilight Gap, in fact I've seen them in the tower together. I have their research files, they were open access on the Vanguard network. Their focus had been the Vex, in particular transfer gate technology. Operating on Venus...

"Had been?"

...they had been filing weekly reports without fail since their first day on the project. But nothing for last week. And the file from the previous week was erased before anyone had viewed it...

"Alright. It still doesn't make any sense but at least we have some pieces. Keep talking. The other two, Tarrat and Song. Where do we find them?"

As her ghost spoke, covering the history and movements of the two warlocks, Diz holstered her pistol and walked the room.

Blood on the floor at the entrance, barely visible through the weapon damage. Nothing on the grooves and burns though, so the blood came first. Droplets leading back to the exit, then returning to the centre of the room. An overturned table, cups and plates scattered.

On the floor amongst them a tiny light caught her eye. A red dot on the side of a plain grey cube, only a few inches square.

"Ghost?"

...yes?...

"This has power."

...yes. It's only a music player for the social area Diz. It isn't connected to anything else. I already checked it, there's nothing in the memory file but music. No voice or data files...

"It's paused..."

She held the device in her palm.

"Play."

The device activated, filling the room with music.

...we've heard this piece once before. Do you recognise it?...

"Yes. Yes, I do. Stop."

The music ceased, silence rushing back.

"Can you tell when it was paused?"

...why would that matter?...

"Can you?"

...there is an internal chronometer. It was paused . . . 12.08. Same day the ship went quiet."

Diz slid the cube into a pocket, re-drew her weapon.

"Alright. What's left?"

...only the cockpit. If we are going to get anything from the systems that are left it will be there...

They passed the bodies of guardian and ghost.

...we need to take them with us...

"We will."

The next door had also been smashed through. It lay half inside the frame, hammered out of shape by a series of blows. Behind it, sat against the wall, was the body of the last crewmember. His head hung forward, exposing a fatal impact wound on the rear of his skull. Higher on the wall a bloody mark showed the likely cause.

...looks like he tried to hold the door against whatever was coming through. And was crushed when it did...

"Brave. But stupid."

...what else could he do?...

"In my experience there's always something. Who killed these people, ghost? Why."

...it seems increasingly unlikely that any alien races were involved. There is no tangible evidence of any of their involvement...

"Another faction?"

...petty bickering between factions, yes. But murder? The faction wars are over ...

"Some wars have no end. Or so I've heard."

Her ghost floated to the main console. The interface had been shattered, screens torn away. Blue light stabbed out, probing the wreckage.

...accessing what remains of the ships mainframe. Everything with an external connection has been wiped. Everything without appears to have suffered at least some degree of physical damage. There is very little left to work with. Attempting data reconstruction...

"If they were trying to conceal their crimes this was a laughable attempt. Why not destroy the ship entirely? Or take it?"

...attracting the cabal would have been a risk. Perhaps their own vessel was better equipped? And destroying the ship would certainly have brought unwanted attention...

"Maybe. Got anything yet?"

...incredibly, yes. Parts of the local memory storage weren't as fractured as I had first thought. I'm getting some data from the ships internal monitoring. 4 crew and a medical frame were recorded on departure from Venus...

"No guardian?"

...no. No record of her anywhere on the ship when they departed. But that doesn't mean she wasn't here. Soon after departure there are a number of course corrections that aren't logged with the Vanguard. A lot of basic day to day information but nothing of interest. Looks like they were cutting as close to the Cabal lines as possible...

"That only makes sense if you are more concerned about running into your own people than you are the enemy."

...I concur. When they reach this asteroid field the data becomes dramatically less coherent. There appears to have been a central system incursion from an external source. The propulsion is cut first, then everything else except life support...

"I thought Dead Orbit said their nav encryption was uncrackable?"

...well, someone cracked it. They tore through the security like it wasn't even there. An external contact was established at 12.01.01. The ship reported a loss of executive control at 12.01.01. Whatever happened was almost instantaneous. Wait. This is what we are looking for. Another ship approaches them less than a minute later. I can't get an ID. It comes up on the external sensors and immediately closes to docking distance...

"Were they fired on?"

...not at this point. The vex have the kind of processing power necessary for this. And the ship did come from Venus...

"No. Not the vex. Nothing else fits. What next?"

...an exterior airlock is breached, attached to the cargo bay. The crew already know because they have opened the weapons locker and are there waiting. Very patchy information from here on. There is weapons fire. Airlock door is sealed. 2 life signs in the mess area, I can't identify them. Then one in the mess and one in the cockpit. Then 2 in the mess and one in the cockpit. Then one and one again. Then just one. Then all monitoring goes down...

"Okay. At least we have something to work with. Let's recap. The warlocks, all Dead Orbit, are studying the Vex on Venus. They report something which is immediately removed from the public feed. This ship leaves Venus with two packages, the contents of which are being concealed. They plot a course through extremely dangerous territory. Risky but sensible if you want to avoid the Vanguard. Then their systems are overrun by an exterior source and they lose control of the ship. Whoever is responsible has off the chart processing power and knew they were here. Another ship appears. They are boarded via the cargo bay. Whoever boarded them kills 3 of the crew and forces our warlock and the remaining crew member back into the mess area. Without using any weapons that weren't already on board."

...Lyssa Arret was no novice. She was a smart, capable veteran. Thousands of confirmed combat kills...

"I know. We are missing something here. A lot of somethings. How long did she have in the mess before the door gave way?"

...14 seconds. Minus whatever time it took to get the last crewman into the cockpit and seal it...

"So, very little. Maybe 10 seconds. She's wounded. She's trapped. She's overmatched. She knows she is likely to be killed. And she uses the time to listen to a few seconds of a song?"

...12.09. Timewise it does match up. Why she would do this however is beyond me...

"She must have known anything she left behind would likely be taken or destroyed. So how do you leave a clue? When you can't leave anything behind?"

...you can't...

"She wasn't stupid. You said it yourself. Very intelligent. She wouldn't waste the last seconds of her life. Anything she done would have been for a reason."

...all the comms systems were down. Unless she cut words into the wall there was no way for her to contact anyone. If you mean the song was the message...

"I do. It could be a private code for something. Or it could mean ... someone else."

...you mean him...

"Yes. Him. But this is getting us nowhere. Let's keep going. The door is breached. She fights, she loses. Whoever killed her makes sure neither her or her ghost will be coming back. They take out the next door and the last of the crew. Then start destroying the ships systems. When they are done, they leave with the smaller of the packages in the hold, and the contents of the other. Plus this ship was fired on at some point. Logically it would have had to have been then, as there is no record before. But why cripple an empty ship?"

...no idea. So far, that's as close to the truth as we can get...

"It doesn't feel very close."

...no. It doesn't...

Diz sat with her back to the console, looking past the crewmans body, past the broken door. Her eyes rested on her fellow guardian.

No coming back this time, friend.

We all have the same fate. The only thing that seperates us is time.

She tapped the barrel of her pistol on the steel grating of the floor. Breathed deeply, eyes closed.

"I still don't understand why they would leave all this. There is a lot here we don't understand but that is utterly illogical. The only reason I can see to do it would be . . . would . . ."

...Diz?...

"The only reason would be to see who came looking. Leave it and let the Cabal do your dirty work for you. Why cripple an empty ship..."

The silence hung heavy in the room. That smell, of blood and fire.

you shot me in the back

"Ghost. Get The Blade ready. We are leaving. Right now."

...We are? Alright, but ... Diz. Diz, somethings wrong. The external airlocks have sealed themselves...

"When? How? I thought there was no power."

...there wasn't. They came online when I first accessed the mainframe from the cockpit. The process was masked from me. Flawlessly. A trap in what was left of the software. And I fell for it. Oh no. Not just the doors...

"What now?"

...a distress beacon was activated at the same time. It's already been going off for minutes...

"The Cabal..."

...yes, the Cabal. I've linked up with The Blade and her long range scanning is already picking up two ships, closing on our position. Eta is . . . 2 minutes, if we're lucky ...

"Too close. Too little time. How long to cut through those doors?"

...with the materials we have here? At least an hour...

"What about this ship? Can we get it moving again?"

...in the time we have? Not a chance...

Me, walking into a trap. How embarrassing.

"Okay, options?"

...death?...

"Not ideal. More options?"

...I have to be honest here Diz, that was all I had. I'm sorry. This is my fault. I missed the trap in the coding...

"Don't blame yourself, ghost. I'll do that for you. This is totally your fault. But if we live there's a good chance I'll be so relived I'll forgive you."

...the Cabal are in range to begin docking manouvers. They'll be onboard in less than a minute...

"Well then. At least we can have a little fun. I was getting bored anyway."

She stretched her neck, cocked her weapon, a thin smile on her lips. She felt relaxed for the first time since she had come aboard.

...they are docking...

A dull metallic sound echoed through the ship, followed by a second.

"Just remember you called me paranoid."

...this is it Diz. They're breaching the inner seals. 30 seconds...

"How many?"

...23 over the two ships. 14 legionaries, 4 phalanx, 2 psions, 2 centurions. And a Collossus...

"Glorious."

...Diz. Should we, perhaps, do something?...

"I'm thinking. Don't pressure me."

...they are inside, moving through the cargo hold. 20 seconds...

"Ghost."

...15 seconds...

They could hear voices now, coming closer.

"Ghost?"

...yes?...

"Can I get some music?"

...really, Diz? Really? 5 seconds, watch the door...

"Don't worry."

...3...

"I've got an idea."

...1...

... resume playback ...

Z : Well, what was the music?

D : I forget.

Z : You ... forget?

D : It must be my age.

Z : Of course. It's certainly an interesting story, guardian, I'll give you that. So how did you escape?

D : We all have our little secrets Commander. I'll keep that one to myself, for now.

Z : More lies, Diz? Unfortunate, but of little relevance. The ship is gone. Nothing there but debris. You stopped answering comms after this. Why?

D : I was ordered into an ambush. Set up to die. And you want to know why I wouldn't answer a call?

Z : I want to know everything, guardian. I need to know. And you won't leave here until I do. Eventually I will get the truth. The next time the Vanguard flagged you was a week later on Mars, two kilometres outside the exclusion zone. Talk.

D : It's funny, Zavala. 10 years you've been telling me to shut up. Now all you want to do is chat.

Z : The warlock, Tarrat. Tell me what happened.

D : What happened? He's dead. His ghost is dead. He was a fool and he deserve -

... foreground noise . ? . identify . immediate mic proximity . Z movement - (blunt force impact?) - D movement . analyse echo pattern . physical strike . ? ...

Z : I don't care what you thought of him. I don't care if you're in my custody. You speak about a lost fellow guardian like that again, Diz, and you'll never leave this room alive. Now tell me about Mars.

... holdplayback ...

Go back again.

Observe.

An artificial satellite, one of thousands in upper mars orbit. Inactive, as it has been for centuries. A dark metal oval, cold and lifeless, unseen against the night sky. Until a signal is recieved. Watch now. Fresh power revives long dormant systems. A heartbeat. Processing / communication / navigation / manuevering / defense. A mind comes to life. Eyes and ears and intent.

This is no longer just debris.

This is an Asset.

It is moving.

The hull shimmers as the cloaking systems engage, tiny compression thrusters fire in barely detectable bursts. The most advanced interplanetary ships in the system could pass metres by and never know it was there. This is Golden Age technology. It has been brought out of retirement for a purpose.

Here. The Asset is slowing, new systems spooling up, scanning the surface of the planet below.

Now. It has found it's target and focuses. Closer.

Through the clouds, leaving the cold and dark behind.

Past the mountain peaks, into the red valleys winding between the ruins.

Among the dunes, half buried by sand.

Shadows in the dust. An abandoned outpost.

On the top floor of one of the broken buildings, a guardian and their ghost. They work in silence, components of miniature stealth drive laid out on the floor around them. It would be big enough for a sparrow and rider, if they can make it work. Enough to help them stay hidden for a while longer. This is the warlock, Abdel Tarrat. His crimson robes are filthy, his eyes tired. A damaged fusion rifle lies in the corner, his hand cannon still strapped by his side.

100 metres away, moving through cover, are another guardian and ghost. This is Diz. They have been looking for Tarrat. He is not yet aware of them. A dust storm is picking up, filling the air, blocking the sun, eating away at what remains of the ruins. The pair begin to climb in the faltering light, then move from roof to roof until they are directly above their target. They watch him through a shattered skylight.

Listen.

"I'm rapidly coming to regret this decision. Look at him. He'd be big for a titan never mind a warlock. He could squash me if I get too close. Like a bug. A tiny, tiny bug."

... you know what they say Diz, the bigger they are...

"The harder they pummel you into the ground?"

...well, yes, I believe Cayde did say that. But I was of course referring to the old human phrase. The bigger they are the harder they fall...

"Hmm. Not so sure about that. It's a bit general for my liking. What about mass? Inertia? Local gravity and angle of descent?"

...perhaps we should focus on the job at hand. We are only here to talk to him after all. Although his disappearance and subsequent behaviour are decidedly suspicious...

"True. But it doesn't prove anything. Talk to him first. We just have to be ready."

...I am simply uncomfortable with giving away clear advantages in any potential combat situation. We have both read his record. Aggressive. Experienced. Crucible legend in his younger days. In a fair fight I cannot predict an outcome with any degree of certainty...

"I'll never lose a fair fight ghost. Because I'll never fight fair."

...that, at least, is a certainty...

Below them Tarrat threw a piece of equipment in frustration. He crouched, head in hands. They could hear his raised voice, the docile reply of his ghost.

"As good a time as any I suppose. Don't waste any more power masking us once I drop in."

...of course. I also have The Blade standing by in case this all goes horribly wrong...

"Your confidence is inspiring. Let's say hi, shall we?"

She dropped through the gap in the skylight.

you betrayed us

Tarrat froze as she landed. His ghost had cloaked almost instantly, leaving only a swirl of dust. Silently, he rose, keeping his back to her.

"I knew they would send someone after me." he spoke, his voice deep and steady, "But you? Very strange, very strange."

He turned, hands at his sides. Diz saw the glint of a barrel beneath the robes as he gazed down on her, casting his shadow across the room.

"Who would send someone after you?" she smiled as she spoke but she was watching his eyes, his posture, the twitch of his fingers. By gods he's a big one.

"No games hunter. I don't play. Why are you here? Friends do not sneak so close. Assassins do. But you are talking not shooting. So talk. Or leave."

...he wasn't ready for us. He is trying to buy time. In his defence, it's the smart move. He knows nothing about us, or our intentions. If we are hostile he has no idea of his chances i 1. Let's play along and learn what we can...

"Will do. Hi. I'm Diz. And you, despite your size, were not easy to find. If I didn't know better I would have said you were hiding from something. Tucked away in these ruins, surrounded by Vex. But why would you be in hiding?"

"Last chance, little hunter."

"Impatient one, aren't you? Aren't we all friends here? So, here's a story for you. I found a ship called The Dawn Hush. It had, among other things, a dead warlock on it. Lyssa Arret. A friend of yours, I believe. Close friend. Last seen with you. Think you could help me find out what happened?"

Tarrat nodded slowly, a wry smile on his lips.

"No. Now get out."

"I'm sorry Abdel, but that's not going to cut it. The 4 crew were murdered as well as your friend. You said no games. I'm not playing."

The warlock moved, turning towards the table at the window. Diz tensed, hand moving to her side but he only leaned on the surface, looking out across the shifting sands.

"I know you." he said, "I've seen you in the tower, once or twice. Caydes Coward. That's what they call you, you know? What we call you, real guardians. Caydes Coward. No allegiance. No combat record. No-one has ever been on an op with you. Nothing but scouting missions."

...he is just wasting time, building his super. His ghost is trying to mask it but the energy levels are rising. Approximately 2 minutes...

"I know."

"What do you do for Cayde, little hunter? Where do you go, coward? I wonder. Have you ever heard us call you that?"

"No, can't say I have. Have you heard that ghost?"

...Yes...

"Oh. What, really?"

...all the time. It's embarrassing...

"Ah. Well I like it. I do. It's catchy."

"You're a funny one, hunter. And maybe brave, to come alone. Or maybe stupid. I don't have to tell you anything."

...I've tried to contact his ghost with no success, they are just feeding me static. Concerningly, there was a trojan code embedded in the signal, designed to corrupt my defensive systems. I might have fallen for it if I hadn't tried it once myself. I can play along for now. Lets push him harder. Use what we know...

"I understand." Diz moved as she spoke, off to the warlocks left, putting his weapon on the far side and the sun out of her eyes. "I'm not sure you do though. I'm not here to fight, Tarrat. I want to find out who killed these people. Who killed your friend. What happened on Venus? What was in those containers? Give me something."

The warlock sighed, gave one last glance to the sun before meeting her gaze.

"We all make mistakes." his voice was quieter now, dulled with pain of memory, "Often they look like victories until it's too late. We achieved what many thought was impossible. Controlling the vex gates, bending them to our will. But it cost my brother his mind. Then my sister her life. She was murdered, a million miles away from me. It shouldn't have been like that. Have you ever seen an avalanche, hunter? Not much to see, at the start, unless you know what to look for. I'm afraid. You would be too if you understood. Dead orbit is right, we have always been right. There is no survival here, not in this system. We have to flee. But not this way. This is madness."

...cryptic nonsense. We know all this already. He won't give us anything. His ghost has backed off. Nova bomb in 30 seconds. He's going to use it...

"That's a sad story. I'm tearing up here, really. But you aren't telling me anything, Tarrat. If you are in trouble I can help you. It doesn't have to be this way. Who is after you?"

"You're wrong, little hunter. It has always been this way. The collapse was only the beginning. The whirlwind is coming."

...any second Diz. Take him out now. Diz! Take him out n - .. - ... -

The sound and picture are lost to interference.

Twenty thousand miles above, the eye unfocuses.

The satellite goes dark.

In time, it will return to its original position.

Inert. Inactive. Invisible.

This is no longer an Asset.

This is only debris.

... resume play back ...

Z : Then we find you here, Diz. Today. In Hideos quarters. What were you doing in there? Have you lost your mind?

D : Well. That's a solid question actually, Commander. But how would I know if I had?

... file ends . exiting systems . running tabula rasa protocols . executing . exit complete ...

Every guardian knows this room.

Down the stairs and out of the sun of the courtyard. Past Eris and Shaxx. You see the light ahead.

It is quieter here.

As you enter the room itself you stop, just a moment to take it in. Men and women, Frames and guardians still come and go but there is greater purpose. This is the nerve centre of the Vanguard. You see the mountains through the glass at the far end, over Zavalas shoulder. He is talking with a maintenance Frame, looking in to a power outage in the lower levels. Ikora is here, head down, focused on the report in her hand. Opposite her Cayde speaks in hushed tones with another hunter. He raises his eyes to nod to you, briefly, then he is back to work. From every wall you see monitors and comms systems feed the stream of information.

Everything we have, every life that remains of our race, owes it's survival to decisions made in this room. Made by these Guardians.

Someone is coming. You hear the sound of running feet grow closer. Others hear it too. A hush falls on the room, eyes turning as the runner enters, brushing past you. It is a titan, breathing heavily. He only stops when he reaches Zavalas side. Ikora raises an eyebrow. Cayde smiles, curious.

The titan speaks and in the silence you hear every word. Everyone does.

"The prisoner, sir. The hunter."

You know what comes next.

"She's escaped."

chapter 3 - "Senescence"

My name is Diz.

I am a hunter.

No.

No no no. Capital h. A Hunter.

A tracker. A trapper.

A killer.

Always, I kill.

I am human.

Or I was. Perhaps I am something more now.

Perhaps less.

I am a guardian.

A protector and wielder of the light. When I wake in the night those words are on my lips. They have begun to taste like poison.

It is time.

I have a confession to make.

Have you heard of Dredgen Yor? Of course you have. A guardian turned to the dark. Traitor. Betrayer. Murderer.

Was he evil? Yes, of course. By the standards we have come to accept, Dredgen Yor was evil. Inside every guardian there is a battle raging, every moment that passes. Not between good and evil, light and dark. Such childish terms. The war is between hope and hopelessness.

Not everyone wins.

Some are turned and something must be done.

No.

No not yet. I'm not ready yet. I was talking about Yor.

There were still things to admire in him, a few stars in a black sky. If you have the courage to see it. To admit it. Being evil didn't make him any less skilled, any less driven. He was a force the likes of which we rarely see. He was brave. You would be cursed, spat upon if you spoke such words in the tower. But it doesn't make it a lie. The cruel nature of his actions does not negate the courage required to carry them through. We see this everyday and try not to think of it. Are the Fallen soldiers any less brave than ourselves when they give their lives? More so, some would say. They don't get to come back.

We don't like to admit it because it makes our world a harder place. To live as we do we need those absolutes. Good and evil, light and dark. But these are fantasies. This world is grey. Even for the worst of us.

The lost guardians.

Our bodies may not age but our minds can still be pulled apart by time.

This is where I walk, in eternal twilight.

This is where it begins. That loss of hope.

I was only following orders.

But now I hear their voices.

Killer.

Murderer.

Something had to be done.

My name is Diz.

This is my confession.

There is a painting above his desk of the sea at night. A single-masted ship sails alone, wooden hull catching the moonlight as it climbs a dark wave. There is no-one aboard.

Three times over ten years I've been in this room and it's the only personal item I've ever seen.

He is only here to sleep. If he sleeps, that is.

He should be here by now.

"Time, ghost?"

...63 seconds since you last asked me...

"Thanks."

My right hand is at my thigh holster again. I miss my gun. The weight of it by my side. It would be in my grasp now, if I had it. The barrel tapping on the nearest surface. It helps me think.

...Diz. Movement in the corridor outside...

Finally. I slip into the corner, cloaking engaged. He should be alone but it pays to be prepared. No risks. Not now.

The door slides back. His ghost floats in and he follows.

"Vocal authorisation, Commander Zavala."

At his words a holo display lights up over the desk, a miniature of the Vanguard interface he works from every day.

"Ghost. Run security process shell 7."

...running. Ready. Room is clean and locked down...

He pours two glasses of water, sits them on the table and leans back in his chair.

"Have a seat, Diz."

Credit where it's due, he didn't even glance at me.

I deactivate the cloak and slide into the free chair.

"I have to say commander, you're quite the actor."

"Thankyou, guardian. You put on quite a show yourself."

Our two ghosts draw alongside each other, blue light flickering between themselves and the interface.

"It worked. Partially, at least." Zavala gestures toward the holo display as he speaks, "As we expected, whoever has been infiltrating our systems hacked us just moments after we ended the interview. They took copies of the voicefile and related security records. The trace was in progress but they were too fast and we lost it. Not the result we were counting on but still worth the risk. We have fed them enough information, hopefully, to draw them out of the shadows. Now we can only wait. And see who makes a move."

His plan, not mine. I just deliver the bullets, as Cayde would say. Or attract them.

"And what's our move? You almost got me killed out there Zavala. Whoever is behind this isn't playing."

"Every mission I give puts lives at risk. You know that better than anyone."

We hold each others gaze for a second before I turn away.

I'm exhausted.

The last two weeks have been running endlessly through my mind, anger building with each hour that passed. It needs an outlet, I know. But not now. We haven't spoken since Mars and we won't have long here. Losing my temper will help no-one. And I'm all about helping people.

"I understand your frustration, guardian. I do." the commander leans forward, a hand placed briefly on my shoulder, "But we cannot rest for a moment. There are traitors in the tower. Fellow guardians who are deceiving the Consensus, aiding in the murder of their comrades. We must stay focused. Let's get up to speed. Thoughts on The Dawn Hush since our last communication?"

He's right, of course. Always is. There are traitors in the tower. Aiding in the murder of their comrades. Does he realise what he is saying? Using those words between us.

Faint at first. I can hear the whispers rising.

Not here. Not now.

Don't close your eyes.

I have to stay focused.

"The music." my voice isn't as steady as I'd hoped. "The more I think about it the more certain I am. Lyssa knew who was responsible for the attack and left the only clue she could. Tchaikovsky, symphony number 6. I've heard it once before. So have you. So had Lyssa, Tarrat and Petr Song. The only time we were all together."

"I recall. The intelligence briefing on the Omnigul breach. It's the music Rasputin played."

"Yes. The warmind. Who else has the processing power to take down a ship that fast? Who could have an asset in that area capable of doing so? And who would have no compunction about killing guardians if it served their purpose?"

Zavala pauses in thought, a deep breath and sigh.

"The warmind isn't our enemy, Diz. At least I don't believe so. And what could the motive be?"

"I have no idea. But it's a possibility that can't be ignored. Still, I think we should start with Venus. Find Petr Song. Find out what was in those packages."

"Already begun. We have been trying to track him since you left the Dawn Hush, unfortunately without success. I have a meeting with Arach Jalaal in an hour. These were his people, his ship. Whatever is going on Dead Orbit are at the heart of it."

"They didn't flag the ship as missing either. I checked. There's no chatter about this, no rumours. Nothing. They are working incredibly hard to keep this quiet."

"I know. And we are only scratching the surface. A number of Dead Orbit ships have stopped filing transport records. Personnel and guardians affiliated with them have left operations they were assigned to. This is developing into a major incident, Diz. It is being noticed."

"Do you think it was Jalaal who hacked the system for the interview file?"

"It does seem possible. My meeting with him should be ... interesting."

We are both lost with our thoughts for a moment, a heavy silence filling the space between us. Light from the rising sun filters through the lone window, catching the motes of dust as they dance in the air. I am thinking of Lyssa Arrets broken body. Then Abdel Tarrats words in the sands of mars. She was murdered, a million miles away from me. Alone. It shouldn't have been like that.

They were family, the three of them. As much as any of us can be.

What happened on Venus? What did they find?

Have you ever seen an avalanche, hunter?

Sometimes we feel like pawns, but we are overestimating ourselves. We are little more than grains of sand.

"Why did you give me this mission Zavala? The Dawn Hush. How did you know it was there?"

He raises his eyes to me. There is no expression on his face. There rarely is.

Cayde told me once, every conversation, every interaction is a game to win. This is how we survive. What are you taking from this person? More importantly, what are you giving away?

Zavala doesn't give away much.

He leans back in his chair, eyes still on me, hands folded in his lap.

"It isn't relevant but there is no reason to keep it from you. We had a missing Titan on Venus, one of my own. We still haven't found her. While I was searching I received a report from one of our scouts, of suspicious activity from a Dead Orbit freighter. The Dawn Hush. I had a tracker placed on it before launch. But the signal cut out in the asteroid belt."

And people say Cayde is the devious one. Ikora the smart one. They look at Zavala but they don't see.

"On the subject of that ship Diz, I'm curious. You never did tell me how you escaped the cabal."

"Escape? I didn't really escape. I just killed them all. I think I may have left one floating in space after I blew him out the airlock. So depending on how long his life support lasts he could still technically be a survivor. I feel a little bad about that, to be honest. Not a clean way to go."

"I wouldn't worry about it."

"I won't. These things happen. Nobody's perfect."

"Indeed. For now however, the Cabal are of lower priority. Onto Mars. What about Tarrat, have you discovered anything further?"

"Nothing. He disappeared from Venus the same time as Lyssa and Petr. He never gave me a chance to take him alive, Zavala. I got a knife in his ghost and a shot in his head. But not before he got the nova bomb off. It brought half the dune down on top of us. No chance to get the bodies before the vex came looking."

"I have the location. It's swarming with Vex and Cabal. We can't divert the kind of resources necessary to search the area. Not now. Not without it being questioned."

Zavala gets to his feet, opens a chest in the corner of the room. He removes my gun and walks back to me.

"This belongs to you."

I reach out and take it. The hand-laid stock, rifled barrel and perfect balance. I am whole again. My ghost says it's just a gun. A ghost will never understand.

"Zavala?"

"Yes?"

"In the interview. You didn't have to punch me."

"We all have to make sacrifices guardian. And the punch wasn't acting."

"Great. I feel so much better about it now."

"Let's stay on point, guardian. We don't have much time. This morning. Why did you break into Executor Hideos quarters? That wasn't what we agreed, Diz. Not even close."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. And why not? When in doubt, sow chaos. A little misdirection never hurt anyone."

"That was foolish, guardian. It may come back to bite you. It may come back to bite us both."

"And organising my escape might come back to bite you. 4 titans incapacitated. That power cut? All the security records that were falsified? How did you manage that?"

"Like you said, hunter. We all have our little secrets."

...Diz...

We both turn at my ghosts voice. A holo of a jumpship has been displayed, overlaying a map of Old Russia.

...Lyssa Arrets ship has been spotted, on the outskirts of the cosmodrome...

"Where? And by who?" Zavala frowns, eyes scouring the data stream alongside the visuals.

...one of Caydes scouts, running patrol on the coastline. Standard procedure to log other guardians movements, in case anyone goes MIA. The ship was in a controlled descent. On that course it would have landed at these co-ordinates...

"Why didn't it show on any of our orbital monitoring?"

...unknown. I've checked the logs and there is no record of the ship entering the system. Although I have analsyed the scouts visual recording and the ID is not in doubt...

"Get Cayde. Tell him to put a fireteam on the trail of that ship. I want to know who is onboard the second they find it. That location..." Zavala looks to me, "There is an entrance there. To the warminds bunker."

Grains of sand, moving together. This is how an avalanche begins.

"Alright. We are out of time here, Diz. I need to be seen back at command. What do we have so far?"

"A headache. And a lot of loose ends."

"True. But we know whatever is going on here Dead Orbit are the key to it. Jalaal would have been my first suspect for the hack. This theory with Rasputin however...it complicates matters. Our only other leads are the remaining warlock from the fireteam..."

"Petr Song."

"...or contacting Rasputin himself."

"Great. So what are my orders? I can go to Venus and probably get killed. Or go to see Rasputin and definitely get killed. Exciting times. Your call, commander."

I don't know what I want him to say. Both options are equally unappealing.

"Go to Venus. Find Petr Song. We need to know what the Dawn Hush was carrying. I'll attempt to contact the warmind and find out why Lyssa Arrets ship has just turned up in Old Russia."

Venus then. I have memories of those jungles. Images I try to push back down, voices I try to quiet. I have memories like this for so many places now. The whispers are all around.

I was your friend and you murdered me

Rushing out of the dark.

you stabbed me in the back.

"No." my voice, out before I can stop it.

"What did you say, guardian?"

shot my ghost as I died

"No, nothing. I didn't mean that."

I grip the chair to hide my shaking hands.

"Are you fit for this, Diz? Are you having ... problems, again?"

"Yes. No. Probably. Not my usual work, this. Yet somehow it still ended with dead guardians. Same old same old. Everywhere I go."

The darkness is boiling, a black edged fire.

Now.

I am losing control. The panic. It calls.

"Is that all we have to look forward to, Zavala? What Lyssa got. Dying alone."

"Stop, Diz. Stop this. That way lies hopelessness. You know better than any of us what happens to guardians who lose hope. The darkness stops fighting back. It reaches out to embrace them."

"Not yet Zavala. Not me."

The words taste like a lie. I don't even believe myself.

"I wonder though commander, if it happens. Who comes for me, Zavala? Who do you send after the guardian killer? Who would have even half a chance of finding me, never mind taking me dow - "

"I would."

His voice, quiet but strong.

"If it comes to that, Diz. I'll do it myself."

My ghost is trying to speak to me but I don't hear it anymore.

This is how it happens. The boiling dark, pulling me forward, pulling me down. And I am not afraid. To accept it is not surrender. It is peace.

I fight it.

Sweat forms and clings cold to my skin, those shaking hands lose the strength to grip. The static of a million voices fills my mind, blocking out Zavala, the room, the worlds.

I fight it.

I fight it and this time I win.

I am still here.

The burning in my chest begins to fade as I breathe. The fog around my vision recedes.

"Do I have to worry about you, guardian?" Zavalas voice, cutting through.

I am still here.

I am still Diz.

Then, one day, I will lose. And that will be the last fight.

"You always have to worry about me Zavala." I sound so small now, like a frightened child. "Because that's who I am. That's what I am. Our dirty secret, yours and mine and Caydes. Just another weapon for putting down rabid dogs. If the time comes Zavala, you won't have to kill me. I'll do it myself."

"Will you? I've heard that before. We both have."

Standing now, he towers over me. Emotionless. Unforgiving. He cannot afford to be otherwise. I know this. And for now, I understand. Then he reaches down, takes my hand. I am pulled to my feet.

"The future of the city is what matters, Diz. Not me. Not you. Only the city. Now, do I have to worry about you?"

"No, commander. Not yet."

I am still a guardian.

But I will always hear their voices.

Traitor.

"We could have saved more of them, Zavala. Couldn't we? Given them another chance. Brought them back."

Murderer.

"You did save them, guardian. You did save them. Now get to work."

Why are you doing this? I don't understand. You could simply deactivate me. I'm of no use to you. These questions. All of this. Did you kill them both? Why won't you answer me? You can't leave me like this. Don't leave me here. Answer me. You killed them both. I know you did. I know you did.

So long ago.

The first time.

I saw the smoke. Stark against the blue sky.

...distance to target - 4.17 miles. ETA at present speed - 18 minutes...

The footprints in the snow led through the forest, winding between the trees. We followed. Black, skeletal branches reached for the cold sun above.

I wasn't ready.

...target ID confirmed. There is a small settlement on the latest map of this area. Very likely the source of the smoke. Last recorded visit from a guardian was 6 months ago. There were 8 settlers in total. 5 adults and 3 children. I'm scanning but I only get a single life sign...

The ground had begun to slope downward, leading into a shallow valley. The shade here had kept the snow thick. My footsteps were louder on the crisp ice, the cracks of dead wood echoing like gunshots. We came to water, a thin clear stream across the dark stones. The footprints were closer together now. Our target had slowed then stopped, pacing back and forth beside the stream.

...you can see the village from here. He could see it as well, I'm sure...

We crossed. Close. I drew my weapon, eyes fixed on the buildings ahead. Nothing much to see. A wood fence around two single storey homes. The smoke was rising from a clearing between them. There were no voices. No sounds but the crackle of the fire.

...weapons ready. Grenades ready. All supplementary combat options charged and ready...

Then I saw him. Framed by the fire. Blood on the ground.

He was the first.

I was not ready.

Cayde strode through the courtyard, cloak snapping in the wind. The morning was cold, a light rain caressing the tower beneath a grey sky. The birds scattered as he passed.

His meeting with Zavala and Jalaal should have already begun but he was running late. He made a point of it whenever the Arach was involved. The commander would already be there, disapproving eyebrow prepared to raise when he arrived.

Oh well, nobody's perfect.

As he arrived outside the chamber he saw Jalaal approaching from the opposite direction. The Arachs face darkened. They both slowed, halting a few feet apart before the door.

Cayde raised his hand and spoke first.

"Forget it."

"Forget what?"

"Always. Idiots say forget what."

"Trying to be funny again, Cayde?"

"I'm having a backwards conversation."

"You're doing what? Just get out of the way, hunter."

"I like to keep my mind active, especially with the likes of yourself about, Jalaal. Shall we?"

The hunter gestured to the doorway. Jalaal pushed past.

They entered.

... contact initiated . negotiating with host . assessing firewalls . fault line marking initiated . running siege protocols . manufacturing breach . accessing . manufacturing authorisation . accepted . zeropointlevel access . searching security logs . e126784t85661204towersouthunit1 . access live file . limited consensus session . present GT Commander Zavala . present GH Cayde-6 . present Arach Jalaal . tagging identities Z, C, A . live voicefile running . initiate stream ...

A : - - - and two of my own are dead, murdered by this traitor and you do nothing. Let her escape from under your nose. Do we have another Dredgen Yor on our hands, Zavala? And what about you? Sitting there smirking. What do you have to say for your hunter, Cayde?

C : Nothing, I'm not a mind reader. I just shoot things.

A : Of course. This animal is one of your assets yet you choose to do nothing.

C : Above the bar, maybe. Opposite the window.

A : Honestly, what are you babbling about now?

C : Just deciding where to mount your head if you say that again.

Z : Enough! Enough of this, both of you. Are you going to answer me Jalaal? Do you have the activity logs from your fireteam on Venus?

A : I don't have them. They have been erased. Even if I did I wouldn't provide them. You have called me in here like a criminal and expect me to bow down to your every request? The Consensus has always kept us on the edges of power, using our factions resources while keeping us at arms length. This attack against our guardians and your feeble response are the end.

Z : Guardians have been murdered, Jalaal. We can work together to bring the guilty to justice, or we can fight amongst ourselves. What shall it be?

A : Yes yes, you make it sound so simple. Painting things in such black and white terms leaves little option but to acquiesce, or I appear as the fool, the aggressor. We need not work together to bring the guilty to justice, Zavala. And perhaps what this rotting council needs is a little more fight among its members.

C : Watch yourself, Arach. Think about what you're saying.

A : Or what, Cayde? What will you do? You are both failing in your duties to protect this city and its guardians. Much like the Consensus itself. Once we needed each other but no longer.

Z : The faction wars almost brought an end to this city. To our races. Is that what you want to go back to?

A : No. Not if it can be avoided. We should simply go our own ways, follow our own beliefs. It can be done peacefully.

Z : If you divide us Jalaal, you doom us all.

A : We are doomed as it is. This way at least some of us may live. This planet is a noose around our necks, Zavala. The city needs Dead Orbit. We no longer need the city.

Z : If you withdraw your faction from the Consensus you bring an end to decades of peace. Thousands will be left defenceless. Our enemies will see the opportunity and strike in force. There will be repercussions for your actions, Arach.

A : Idle threats from idle men. You hate me, both of you. You aren't as good at hiding it as you think, Zavala. But I am not the fool here. All you can achieve in your lives is a brave death. There is no hope on this world, no hope in this system. Only sacrifice for the false favour of a dead god. I want to save our race. All you are fighting for is a long decay.

... exit activated . alteration of acoustic textures detected . subject A has departed ...

C : Well, that went well.

Z : Ghost, cease recording.

... stream ends . exiting systems . running tabula rasa protocols . executing . exit complete ...

...recording ceased...

"Thankyou, Ghost. Run security process shell 6."

...running. Complete...

Zavala had rose from the table and stood at the meeting chambers window. His back to Cayde he gazed out at the sun cresting the mountains, sheets of rain washing down the valley.

"Sorry I was late." said the hunter.

For a second they both smiled.

"This is getting out of hand." the commander sighed. "Dead Orbits philosophy has always been a problem. But they were part of the Consensus. Part of the city. We needed each other. Jalaal is changing that. Like him or not-"

"Not."

"-he has given them a drive they haven't had for a hundred years. He believes what he says and he would die for his beliefs. It makes him dangerous."

"He can die for his beliefs anytime he likes, Zavala. Fine by me. It's the others he will let die for that belief that concern me."

Cayde had crossed the room to lean on the window alongside the titan. They still had work to do.

"The fireteam I assigned should be at Lyssa Arrets ship within the hour. Also, still no news from Venus on your missing Titan."

"I didn't expect any, not after all this time. Don't re-assign those scouts. We have to keep as many eyes on Venus as we can. Whatever is going on is centered there. Jalaal has moved more resources into orbit and tried to keep it quiet."

"I'll speak to the scouts."

"Good. Use Hideos people if you can. We can't trust any of Jalaals and I don't want to involve Lakshmi if we can avoid it. I've sent our other asset there as well."

"Diz? Is she fit for this?"

"She will have to be, Cayde. We need her."

His gaze fell back on the valley as the hunter departed, the shadows of the clouds moving over lakes and forests. This was just another fight to win. Or at the least, survive.

Some nights, he felt, perhaps Jalaal had a point.

He remembered Tolands last words to him, so many lives ago.

In time, all sins become sacrifice.

In another time, in another place, these are golden fields under sun...

As for now, I'm knee deep in mud. It is cold. It is raining. I am alone in the middle of the night in the middle of the jungle.

Venus has never been kind to me. This is a new low.

...another mile, if our information is correct...

"Caydes scouts are rarely wrong. Life signs?"

...there is a degree of interference. As always on this cursed planet. I have detected a jumpship, several Frames and at least one guardian. If the scout was correct and they are preparing to get Petr Song offworld unnoticed, this matches up...

"I think I see them. Lights ahead, north-northwest." I wrench my left boot free of the muck as I speak.

...confirmed. Scanning. The jumpships launchdrive is running hot. We need to move fast, Diz...

"You can fly. I have to trudge. Carry me or shut up."

The wind gusts again, almost knocking me down into the dirt. I push on, snapping branches out of my path and swearing. Move fast?

...scan verified. 4 combat Frames. Two humans, support personnel. One guardian. It's Song. The Frames are holding a defensive perimeter. Give me 2 minutes and I can shut them down...

"Which leaves me the two humans. I promise to be gentle."

...nonfatal incapacitation please, Diz...

"No worries. Drop the frames on my signal."

We are close enough to make out individuals now, even in the weak light. I stay in cover, cloak activated, until I complete a full lap of the camp. Through sheets of rain I mark their locations. The four Frames are stationary, watching the treeline with weapons raised. They are spaced equally apart at each corner of the large central tent. There are dozens of cargo crates and pieces of equipment being loaded onto the ship by the two humans. Then I see Petr Song. He sits alone, outside of the tent, on the ground among the trees. A black and white chest plate, gauntlets and greaves. Long white hair over dark skin, his helmet in the dirt by his feet. His ghost hovers near him, it's light revealing his face in the night. The warlock stares into the distance, eyes glazed, lips moving, rainwater streaming down his armour. I want the Frames and humans out of the equation before I tangle with another guardian.

"Ready, ghost?"

...ready. We are still masked, but as soon as I drop the Frames his ghost will be alerted to our prescence...

"I know. 5 second count. Now."

I'm at the edge of the treeline, Songs back to me on the opposite side of the camp. The two Dead Orbit personnel are halfway up the jumpships loading ramp.

...execute...

I burst forward from the foliage, tearing toward the ship with my eyes on the warlock. He hasn't moved by the time I reach the ramp. The Frames have went dark, now little more than metal statues. I roll forward onto the vessel. As the two humans turn at the sound I rise, exploding upward to strike each on the jaw with a clenched fist. They drop, unconscious, in perfect unison.

"Oh. That was beautiful."

...what?...

"Nothing. Just genuinely impressed that worked."

My weapon is out and by my side. I slide down into a crouch against the loading bays doorframe then freeze, in cover, listening for movement.

...Diz...

"Quiet."

...Diz. He hasn't moved. Neither has his ghost. Not an inch."...

"Okay. That's weird. Surely his ghost spotted us?"

...It is almost inconcieveable that they have not. Should we attempt to make contact?...

"Alright. If we can avoid shooting, I'm all for it. Honest. Try his ghost first."

...comms request sent. Pending. This is very strange...

"Shooting time?"

...don't get excited. You can holster your weapon, if you like. Let's go and get them...

"Excuse me? What's going on?"

My ghost appears in front of me, light blinking in the downpour.

...let's go...

We advance, a few feet apart, moving out of the tent and through the crates. Song hasn't moved. His ghost continues to buzz around him, flickering. I can hear his voice now but I can't make out the words.

...they are both unresponsive. His ghost has been damaged by some form of radiation burst. As for Song. I don't know, Diz. His neural scan is... extremely unusual. I can't make any sense of it...

"Is this a trick?" I've kept my pistol sighted on him, only a few feet away now.

...no trick Diz. I'm not convinced they will even recognise us...

Well then. A different approach is required.

"Petr Song? Can you hear me, guardian?"

He doesn't reply, just that muttering under his breath. I circle around and crouch down in front of them, putting my weapon away.

"Guardian?"

He is shivering in the cold. His pupils are tiny dots in dark rimmed eyes.

"-can't ever beat them, they know our every action, you see it now, they see everything we could try, they know-" his voice, emotionless, running in a breathless stream from pale lips.

"He's lost, ghost." I wave my hand across the warlocks gaze, "I'm not going to lie, I've no idea what to do here."

...his vitals are steady but the neural scan is completely incomprehensible. Remember what Tarrat said...

It cost my brother his mind.

"I remember. No wonder they are trying to get him off world. He needs help."

He isn't the only one, Hunter. Oh shut up.

"-army of individuals harder to predict you see, traveller knew this, always knew this, zombies or drones no use, had to be alive we had to be alive-" Songs voice, a flat relentless tone.

...we should get him out of here Diz...

"Agreed."

I lift the guardian under his arms and drag him, a dead weight, backwards into the camp. His ghost follows, silent in the air above us. The only sounds are the rain and the warlocks whispers.

I sit him upright on one of the crates.

...I'm trying to interface with his ghost but it's taking time. Just bits and pieces of corrupted coding...

"Keep at it. If we can't get anything from either of them this whole trip is a waste. Unless you want to make a spectacular recovery here, Petr?"

"-don't understand, biggest mistake about the Vex is to think we know anything at all, what they are what they want, who ever said they want to win the way we understand it, what if they just want this go on forever, what if they just like the killing, they like the pain you see-"

"I'll take that as a no. This is just paranoid jibberish about the Vex."

...it certainly seems that way. I'm getting a little from his ghost now. Parts of early reports when their fireteam arrived here...

Outside the storm is ending, the sky a shade lighter. It isn't safe to stay here.

"5 minutes then we need to move, ghost. We take them with us, get safely into orbit, then decide our next move."

...I concur. However it is still too risky to try and bring in our ship in to such a heavily monitored area...

"I'm not carrying him."

...then we are stealing this ship. It will take me a few minutes to crack the security access, then we can get moving...

"-thinks its a gift," Songs voice in the background, those words, tumbling onward, "doesn't see the risk but what would you give, for everything you ever wanted-"

Overhead I see two dropships accelerating towards the ocean. The shattered coast. They don't alter course when they pass us and I breathe again. They looked like Guardians ships. Dead Orbit.

"-we are just toys to the vex they use us, use us to thin the herd, this is the fading, the ending of our race, we are watching it all around us-"

"Can we shut him up, ghost?"

...I'm sure you could, but the effect any action on him would have is impossible to predict. He is passive and physically intact. Which is good enough for now...

"Fair enough. Anything from his ghost yet?"

...yes. 10 seconds. Rebuilding memory cache. Rendering visuals. 5 seconds...

Multicoloured light leaps from my ghost, layer upon layer of holographic data streaming through the air in front of me.

...these feeds are from the days before their fireteam went offline. Getting something. None of this made it to the public stream. They received an intermittent emergency broadcast, 140 miles north of the Ishtar Sink. Partially scrambled transmission. It was from a Ghost. No ID. Signal Distress Red...

"Guardian down?"

...yes. They tried to track it. It was within the area they had been working so they knew the terrain well enough. The rest of this file is completely corrupted I can't get anything. I need more time...

"What about the work they were doing?"

...the transfer gates. They had been testing them for years, trying to override the Vex executive control. It would have been quite the technological coup...

"I hadn't heard anything about it."

...because they hadn't achieved anything. 2 years of failure. They had taken gates a dozen times and worked with them until the Vex cut them from the network. No success. Song thought they were close though. He convinced the others to stay on more than one occasion...

Through the holo display I watch the warlock, unmoved, staring into nothingness. He is broken. Worse than death. No ghost can bring him back from this. Whatever mistakes he made he has paid for them.

...as well as the gates they commandeered they had found and logged hundreds of inactive ones across this section of the planet. Song was convinced there was a pattern in their layout...

Ghost pulls up a map, a thousand square miles of wilderness and ruins. Red markers begin to light up on the display, the locations of the disabled gates.

...he believed the gates were arranged in roughly concentric rings, a series of defensive perimeters protecting a central location. He was sure they had only found a small percentage of the gates in this grid. The more they could find, the more accurately he could locate the epicentre...

"What did he think was at the centre?"

...no idea. Wait. Getting some detail from a second log on the distress signal. The file was linked through part of Songs study. Rebuilding file. Diz. Diz, this is it...

The display zooms in to a single valley on the map, enlarging and enhancing.

...the source of the distress call. They found a warzone. A Fallen strike against an entrenched Vex position. It was carnage. A downed lower class ketch. No survivors on either side...

"The Fallen? What were they after?"

...whatever it was they failed. The installation was underground and they never even made it inside. But Petr Song did...

"Bad call."

...He found what he was looking for. The epicentre of the rings. An entranceway leading to another vex gate...

"Buried under the ground? But why? I thought all the gates were practically identical?"

...not this one, Diz...

The display pulls back to show the miles surrounding the valley, only this time it is overlayed with a schematic of another transfer gate.

"What am I looking at here? It doesn't look any different to the others."

...Diz. The schematic isn't an overlay. The gate is mapped to scale...

The world falls out of focus.

Words, faces, dreams. All the pieces begin to crystallize around this point.

"Oh shit."

...exactly. 1.21 kilometers in diameter. Buried just metres below the surface. And with an active power source...

"With a gate that size... "

...yes. And Song figured out how to operate it...

"What?"

...less than 24 hours after they discovered it he ran a test with two smaller gates. Went through himself and returned...

"-they called to me," Songs voice cuts through the haze in my mind, "took me through, showed me the future, showed me the past, millions of them still as statues ready waiting. Millions."

"Is he making more sense? Or am I losing it?"

...this is what happened to him, Diz. The Vex let him into the gate network. And whatever he experienced in there crippled both himself and his ghost...

"But why would they do that? And why haven't they made any move to retake the gate?"

...we are creating more questions than answers here. This ship will be ready to depart in a few minutes. We should go...

"Wait, wait. We are moving too fast, missing too much. Go back. The distress signal. Did they find the ghost? And did the ghost have a guardian?"

...I haven't recovered the data yet, but it must be there. I just need more time...

Time.

More time.

It was the always the enemy. Eternal. Unbeatable. The perfect poison.

But not to the Vex.

It was just another weapon at their disposal, wasn't it? Our own experience is inescapably linear. We see an event approach. We experience it. We recall it.

Not the Vex. We don't really know what they can do with the gates. They worked from probabilities didn't they? Only with such massive computational power they could generate near perfect simulations of the future.

Songs mumbled words are coming back to me.

Words, faces, dreams.

All of the pieces.

we are just toys to the vex

They wouldn't just surrender the gates. They wouldn't simply give them to Dead Orbit.

know our every action

Dead Orbit. Why would the Vex let that faction have a giant gate?

doesn't see the risk

Arach Jalaal?

what would you give for everything you ever wanted

"Ghost. I think I'm having a thought. Several thoughts. I know it's taken me a while but there is definitely an idea forming. Several ideas."

...don't strain yourself...

"I'll try not to. Let's run the timeline. The 3 warlocks answer the distress call. They find the structure they have been searching for. It's a gate big enough for a fleet. They learn how to operate it. The Vex don't stop them. Jalaal finds out. All of their records are erased. Tarrat doesn't like what is happening and flees. Lyssa Arret leaves the planet with precious cargo and is killed onboard The Dawn Hush. Dead Orbit start moving resources to Venus and orchestrate a cover up. Lyssas ship appears on Earth at an entrance to Rasputins bunker - "

The holo display vanishes and my ghost swings closer, cutting me off.

...hold that thought, Diz. Comms traffic. Incoming transmission, on a secured channel from the tower. Heavily encrypted. Processing...

"Who?"

...Zavala. Patching through now...

"Commander? What happened to comms silence?"

"I'm afraid we have passed that stage, Diz. We will simply have to take the risk. The situation has deteriorated."

"Okay, I'm intrigued. I have quite the report myself but you first."

"The fireteam I assigned secured Lyssa Arrets jumpship. While they were searching the craft a guardian exited the warminds bunker. A female Titan with no ghost. Unclassified armour and weapons."

"That's not good."

"They confronted her and she opened fire. Some type of heavy fusion rifle. Cut them down in a matter of seconds."

"Three of Caydes? Taken out by one titan?"

"Yes. I've spoken to them myself after resurrection. 30 minutes later we tracked an unknown jumpship leaving another of Rasputin bunkers. If its her she could be anywhere now. We have no idea what the warminds technology is capable of."

"A rogue, heavily armed titan with a taste for unprovoked aggression. I like her already."

"She is a renegade, Diz. No ghost. No response to comms. She is clearly working with Rasputin and his agenda is unknown. We have tried to contact the warmind and received no response. She is heavily armoured, armed and is attacking other guardians on sight. She needs to be eliminated."

"I had a feeling that was coming."

"And we have identified her, Diz. It's Aliya Raine. The missing Titan from Venus."

I know what he is going to say before he finishes the sentence. All those pieces in my mind have fallen into place, the pressure of the last few weeks snapping them together moment by moment. She was the missing piece. The cargo from Venus. Lyssa Arrets murderer. The missing dropship.

"I know what the warlocks found here, Zavala. And why Jalaal wants it so badly. I ... wait, Zavala ... "

Petr Song has risen to his feet. A trembling hand reaches out to me and there is life in his face for the first time. There are tears in his eyes.

He sees me.

"I know you hunter, I've seen your face. You died in your mothers arms. It was raining."

The warlock laughs.

...Diz get down!...

It happens too fast.

A red beam of light spears across the tent, stabbing through Songs ghost and his own chest in a single shot. I roll for the floor, drawing my gun as I fall. Lightning grenades have come in on either side, forks of electricity lashing out around us, shattering glass and tearing panels from the consoles. A spike takes off my shield, slamming me back into the ground. The warlock falls to his knees, smoke rising from a burning wound in his chest. His ghost is wreckage beside him. Another tick from the grenades. I can't see or hear my ghost. I am trapped in the centre of the camp as a second red bolt catches my shoulder, cutting past to scythe through a stack of crates. White hot pain races down my arm. Fires have started all around, smoke and debris in the air. I can't pin down the source of the shots. A final tick from the grenades and a third shot strikes the jumpships mounted ordnance.

Then there is only the light.

...what are you waiting for? He hasn't spotted us. His ghost has put itself in stasis. Quickly now, before he turns...

"I can't. Not like this."

...we have to. You have to. Our orders, hunter. He is lost. The people who lived here are dead at his hands and they will not be the last unless we act now. He is burning the bodies of those children, Diz...

"I know dammit. I know what he's doing. But I can't shoot him in the back. I can't. I need to speak to him."

...no you don't. You absolutely do not. Shoot him in the back. Shoot him anywhere it doesn't matter. Just - no no no...

"Let's go."

I holstered my weapon and walked forward, hands by my sides, through the centre of the broken gate.

"Greetings, guardian!"

He turned at my words. A titan, tall and pale. His bloodshot eyes were raw. Wild. The eyes of someone afraid to sleep, afraid of those dreams we all have at night. His helmet, gloves and weapons had been cast aside. The sun was falling. His bloodied hands looked black in the failing light.

"Hunter. Do I know you?"

"Don't think so. I'm new. Saw your ship back in the forest as I passed over. Thought I might drop by to say hello."

He was confused, lost behind those eyes. He turned back to the fire, staring into the flames.

...don't get too close. Look at him. Look at what he has done. He is a lost cause guardian, don't let him take another life...

"It's quiet out here, Titan. Peaceful. But where are the people?"

...what are you doing...

He never took his eyes from the fire, just gazed into the flickering light.

"They wouldn't listen. I came to them before, months ago. Told them it wasn't safe here. Told them to come to the city. But they didn't trust me. They wouldn't listen."

I will never forget him there. Blood drying on his skin, in the fire in the night.

"I told them it wasn't safe. I have the light to protect me. But they had nothing. I pulled them apart to see inside, hunter. The children."

His head rose. Our eyes locked for a final time.

"They were nothing."

He moved for his weapon but I was faster.

I am always faster.

It had begun to snow again, sparkling in the moonlight. The coming storm would put out the fire. Cover our footsteps.

Some guardians are lost. Something has to be done.

He was the first.

My name is Diz.

This is my confession.

chapter 4 "Lorelei"

10 years ago.

The Tower.

I have been called to a meeting with Commander Zavala and my mentor, Cayde-6. Zavala is a Titan, Cayde a hunter like me. I have been a guardian for 6 months. Neither myself or my ghost know why we are here. Probably something bad, I think. Maybe that thing in the Cosmodrome, with those Titans. Idiots were asking for it. I mean... yeah. Okay.

Something bad.

I pass Ikora Rey, the warlock, as I enter the room.

The way she looks at me.

I don't understand it. Those eyes are a fire.

"Guardian." her voice stabbing through the space between us.

Pity? Disgust? Both?

She turns from me and leaves.

She will never speak to me again.

The door closes and I feel more eyes on me. Zavala, an emotionless stare. Cayde, with a smirk.

The exo tells me to sit. I do so, trying not to flinch under the commanders gaze.

"You're trouble, kinderguardian. I like you." the gunsmith had told me a few days before. "But I might be the only one."

Well. He wasn't wrong.

Even my ghost has vanished. Getting out of the firing line, the little coward.

"Welcome, Diz." Zavalas voice, "You aren't in any trouble, if that's what you think."

"Really?"

Really?

A little laugh from Cayde. To hear his laugh... It's been so long. He felt like an old friend from the moment I first met him. Where is he now?

"No!" he says, sitting up, "No trouble. Or at least, not yet."

There is another moment of quiet. A tension in the room. Not just from me but between the two counsel members. What is going on here?

Zavala breaks the silence.

"We have called you here Guardian because I believe you can help us. And by extension the city. We have been watching you and feel you may be ... suited, to a certain role."

Okay. This is unexpected.

"I'm intrigued. I didn't think I was very well liked, to be honest, but - "

"You're not. But that is of no consequence."

Cayde leans back in his chair, eyes on me, and shrugs his shoulders.

Nobody's perfect, eh?

"We have ... a problem. The Vanguard has a problem. Which needs to be dealt with...quietly." Zavalas words. So calm, so cold. The years march by, the bodies fall and still I remember every detail.

"We have a problem with some of our guardians."

And so it began.

I don't hear what they say after I leave. It is only years later that I am told.

We can't keep this secret forever, said Cayde.

Yes we can, replied Zavala.

Yes we can.

...can you hear me? Diz?...

"No."

...finally! Eyes up, Guardian, we need to move...

"I said I can't hear you. Leave me alone."

...we don't have time for this...

My eyes crack open. I am on my back, pain knifing through a dozen parts of my body. Heat, smoke and the sounds of fire are all around. Rather concerningly, some of the smoke appears to be rising directly from myself.

"What. Happened."

...Song and his ghost are dead, the ship is destroyed...

Oh yes. Venus. And things. I sit up, head spinning as I choke for breath.

"Ghost."

...It was Raine, ID confirmed. She fled after the explosion...

"Ghost. I'm on fire."

A flickering flame is still burning on my left leg.

...A comms blanket has been dropped on the entire region but I'm tracking her so we can - ...

"I am on fire."

The machines eye swivels down to my burning greave.

...well. Only a little...

Ghost blinks downward then snaps away, the sudden vacuum killing the flames.

...better? Now stop complaining and lets get to work before she escapes...

"Escapes?" I struggle to my feet, "That would imply I was chasing. I'm barely standing."

Wreckage and shattered trees surround us, dark shapes in the haze above the scorched and pitted earth. Zavala was not exaggerating. The situation has deteriorated.

...I have Dead Orbit ships closing on this location, Diz. And if Raine gets any further away I could lose her...

My hand rests on my gun. I hear engines in the distance.

"Then lets move."

"Comms?"

...still nothing. We've lost them, for now at least...

Zavala paced in front of his ghost. Diz had been cut off midsentence and now they couldn't raise her. Tracking from the Vanguards closest satellite had also terminated.

The pieces were falling, he knew. But what was the game?

...voicecomm request from hunter Vanguard...

"Put him through. Cayde, I'm listening."

"News, blue. Dead orbits fleet has been recalled in the last quarter of an hour. Tier 1 priority message, internal comms, faction only encryption. They are on the move."

"How many ships?"

"All of them, from what I can tell. Two of their capital ships have already been spotted in low orbit around Venus."

"All of them..." Zavala voice tailed off.

Without those ships the city was vulnerable. Without Dead Orbits guardians and affiliated forces doubly so. It wouldn't be long before it was noticed.

"We need to start redeploying. Cancel all non-essential missions. I need every guardian we have back inside the city walls."

...distributing orders. Tactical map on screen with active deployments...

"Where do you need me?" Caydes voice, unusually serious.

"Try to get back in touch with your scouts on Venus. We need eyes in that area. I'll meet you and Ikora in the command centre in 10 minutes. Once I've seen the Speaker."

"Done and done. There in ten. What about Diz and Raine?"

"I haven't forgotten." the commander replied, "We're going to need some help."

Five years ago.

The black glass beaches of Africas East Coast, sun falling on a summer night.

A sharp wind rides the waves ashore, cutting through the heavy dusk.

Memories of memories.

Breathe. I can taste the sea.

My target, a female hunter, had been lucky to escape a few hours earlier. In truth, I had been careless. We had tracked her to the ruins of an abandoned city, a few miles back up the coast. Found her with her ghost, out in the open. Exposed.

Easy work this one, I had thought. Just another job.

Easy work.

What had I become? To think such words. Is it enough, to be ashamed?

I had taken position in a burnt out vehicle, resting the barrel of my sniper rifle on the rusted window frame. Readied. Sighted. Breathed.

The wreckage shifted suddenly below me, a wheel arch cracking under my weight. Stupid stupid stupid. My targets had spun at the sound.

I was furious with myself and rushed the shot, a wild effort which only clipped her ghost. The recoil and my movement shifted the old vehicle again, the frame giving way, dropping me back out onto the ground. I was on my feet in a split second but they were already gone.

...well done. No, really. Wonderful. Textbook...

"Shut up, ghost."

The hunter hadn't been foolish enough to head for her ship, an easy target on the ground for rockets. I blew it anyway, fixing two incendiary grenades to the engine core and stalking off, still in a rage.

...that was a little excessive, surely? No?...

"Where are they."

...heading for the coastline. Moving southwest, fast. Almost a mile out now...

So the chase was on.

She was quick, even for a hunter, but I was still on her in less than an hour. We exchanged fire in the rubble of a collapsed tower, sliding and dodging between the blocks of stone and twisted steel. I clipped her shoulder, then a cleaner shot through her right leg as she tried to shadestep into cover. Again she fled. Again the chase.

Only 10 minutes this time before I had her. She was tiring. I let her empty the clip of her scout rifle in wild fire before I dropped her. I had to put my shots through the wall she was hiding behind. It took too much off of them for a kill, but two rounds flush in the back knocked the fight out of her. She ran again but it was aimless. Desperate.

I followed through the last of the buildings, the heat suffocating even in the shadows. Followed her footsteps in the mud, the imprints where she had fallen and struggled back to her feet. Through the tall grass and onto the beach. That black glass, shimmering in the last of the sun.

Now, here we are.

She has stopped running.

I approach, what had once been sand crunching underfoot, sparkling in the failing light with each step. Memories of memories. Dreams. Time has taken both and made them something more.

I never even saw her face, I realise. Never spoke to her.

What had I become?

...target re-acquired and locked. 400 metres...

She stands in the surf. Her back to me, a sharp sileouette, framed by the death of the day. The tide comes in, sunset lit.

The beautiful sky.

Red bleeds into blue bleeds into black. And higher, into the night, the stars.

Her ghost studies our approach, no sound but the sea as shadows lengthen.

A dozen yards away I stop, pistol hanging loose in my hand.

The chase is over.

"Please." the voice of her ghost, "You don't have to do this."

Of course. The loyal companion. Even when a guardian has done ... what she has done, you never give up. Never turn on them. Will never leave. You always bring them back, don't you?

Well not this time, little light.

There are no more chances. No forgiveness for this. No more stories for you.

This is where it ends.

"The War Cult think there are many realities." her voice reaches me, sudden and cold and breaking. "Do you think they lived? In one of those other worlds. My family."

I check the sights on my weapon are clean. Base of the neck, I think, between the helmet and armour.

Her words are no more than a whisper, now.

"In another time, in another place, these are golden fields under sun. And they are still here. Still with me."

I take aim.

"My children."

The sound, two shots ring out.

The tolling of a bell.

The shell of her ghost hits the ground first. Then the hunters body strikes the water.

Red bleeds into blue bleeds into black. In the sky and in the sea.

Then there are only the waves.

I think as I watch them, that all of us, every guardian has witnessed horror. We experience it and are haunted by it, one way or another. For the rest of our lives a sight or sound can take us back to those moments, back into the clutching hands of the dark.

It will always be waiting.

Night falls.

The tide carries the bodies away. The water rises cold around my feet.

I wonder.

What if your life is the horror? What if those hands are your own?

What then.

"I have a theory."

...you mean hypothesis...

"Really, ghost? Really? Now is the time to be correcting my word choice?"

...language is important...

"I have a hypothesis -"

...thankyou...

"- regards our present predicament. Want to hear it?"

...of course. I'm sure it will be fascinating...

I pause for breath, slumping back against a tree trunk. Maintaining this pace, in this heat, is almost unbearable. My helmet is off, despite ghosts protests.

"I must be out of shape. Can guardians get out of shape?"

...you would be the first...

"Quite an honour. Dammit. I think better when I run anyway."

I throw myself forward again, winding through the boughs, vaulting rocks and fallen branches. My ghost projects a hologrammatic target path ahead of us, calculating the fastest route. It doesn't feel like it's helping.

"Okay, here we go. We know what happened to Tarrat. We know what happened to Song. Now for Lyssa. The precious cargo on the Dawn Hush. Two containers, one large and one small. I think it was a dead ghost and her unconcious guardian. Aliya Raine. She was the source of the distress signal the warlocks chased. Jalaal ordered her taken offworld to keep her secure. Until they could figure out why she was there. And what she knew."

...I'm concerned...

"Yes. We all should be."

Short sentences, hunter. Breathe. Tell yourself to ignore the heat. It's not even that warm. Mild, really. I was overreacting.

...you misunderstand. I'm concerned that you are calling this an educated guess. It has been readily apparent since we scanned Songs ghost. It was so obvious I didn't actually think it required discussion...

"Okay. Thanks for that. So Raine was at the gate, maybe by chance, but more likely at anothers request. Which appears to have been Rasputin."

It's actually freezing in this jungle. I feel fresh. Not even tired. I could do this all day. Gods help me I'm going to collapse.

...It's possible. The warmind could have learned of the gate through the warlocks initial reports, before they were erased. In fact, perhaps he was the one who erased them?...

"Could be. So, say she was working for the warmind. From the start. It would explain his aggression against the Dawn Hush in recovering her."

...there are still inconsistencies in your suggested timeline, Diz. If Raine was already onboard the Dawn Hush, unconcious, sealed in that container, then she can't have been the one who boarded the ship through the airlock...

Keep running. Keep breathing. Work the problem.

"No. Lyssa wasn't onboard, she was escorting the Dawn Hush in her own jumpship. Rasputin would have disabled both craft. So she got out, and entered the freighter through the airlock. Just in time to see Raine exit the container...

...I'm proud of you Diz. You appear to be solving a problem without the use of your gun...

"Don't interrupt, I'm on fire here. The medical Frame on the Dawn Hush, under Rasputins control, that's how Raine was revived. Explains why the crew destroyed their own Frame. Who knows what message Rasputin passed to her, but she must have been crazed when she woke. She's in a pitched battle and, next thing she knows, she's been kidnapped. Her ghost is dead. She's surrounded by people she doesn't know pointing weapons at her."

...the resulting carnage is not surprising...

No. No it's not.

I remember the bodies of the crew. The wreckage of the airlock doors. Lyssas ghost, bloodied and broken, embedded in her skull.

Tragic. Horrific. Avoidable.

But not surprising.

"She lost control. It happens."

...understatement of the year. If your hypothesis is to hold, she must be a particularly formidable combatant, even for a Titan...

"Yes. Strange that I've never heard of her."

...she had no live combat record I could find. Only some old scouting missions...

"It's odd, certainly. But not immediately relevant. Maybe Rasputin deleted her records. Or she done it herself?"

...possibly...

A break in the trees, a flash of light and breeze. Humidity drops but temperature spikes. I'm burning up. I can't maintain this pace.

"Getting off track here. The Dawn Hush. The fighting ends. With Rasputins help she leaves in Lyssas jumpship. Leaves the boobytrapped Dead Orbit vessel behind. For some idiots to find it and almost get caught by the Cabal."

...who would do such a thing?...

"Not us, anyway. Now she's back, working for the warmind, heading for the gate a second time. But why?"

...we can only assume that Rasputin wishes it destroyed, but cannot trust the Vanguard as a whole...

"Which Dead Orbit have proven correct."

...so he has devised another method of attack he believes to have greater chance of success. A lone guardian...

"Why not just fire on the gate himself? We know he has military assets all over the solar system."

...cost/benefit analysis, Diz. From the warminds perspective, it may simply not be worthwhile in the long term. From the readings Song took the gate itself is heavily shielded. Any strike against it would have to be on an enormous scale. If Rasputin has that capability it is unlikely that he would wish to reveal it unless absolutely necessary. It is also likely that any such strike would take half the ishtar Sink with it...

"Not ideal."

...not for any side, you would think. He has perhaps concluded that the only way to disable or destroy the gate is from inside. If so, a lone guardian could be much more effective than any large force...

"Especially with everything else that is happening. But why her? And why would she agree to it?"

...I have no reasonable suggestions at present, but they are surely secondary concerns. There is a bigger issue with all of this conjecture. Why are the vex allowing this?...

"Well, I have an idea about that."

Petr Songs words play back in my mind. Doesn't see the risk, he had said.

Millions of them, still as statues, ready, waiting.

See the risk.

"Ghost, pull up that map again."

...Viewing now. What am I looking for?...

"I think we are all blinkered by decades of defending. Protecting the Tower and what little we have. It takes a hunter to see it for what it is. The concentric rings of gates, layer after layer."

I picture it in my mind as I speak.

Every question is simple when you know the answer.

"That isn't a defensive layout. Its a noose. A trap. When Dead Orbit move on that gate they are finished. The other gates will activate and start pouring Vex on top of them. It'll be a slaughter."

...that would be a disaster for us all, Diz. With Dead Orbits guardians and resources gone, a Vex force of that size could obliterate what remained of the Vanguard...

"They would. And Rasputin knows this. He was built to protect humanity, wasn't he? The entire species. That's why he is after this gate."

...but he is, it appears, to be supporting the murder of both humans and guardians through Raine. Even if his concern is the species as a whole, not individuals, why kill Peter Song?...

"Song was the driving force behind cracking the gates, wasn't he? Rasputin can't allow that to happen, ever. With Song gone, they might not be able to replicate the progress they made."

I have to stop, every part of my body is shaking with exhaustion. My vision blurs, my throat burns. But I feel alive, free for the first time in months. So I wait, watching the dark of my mind, waiting for them. Waiting for their voices. But there is nothing. Silence, for the first time in years.

...Diz, if all of this is accurate, shouldn't we be helping Aliya Raine? Our orders are to eliminate her but that gate needs to be destroyed. If our suppositions are correct she is the best chance to do so...

"Yes. Yes she is. And the second after she's done it I'm going to put a round through her head."

Am I? I say it but I don't believe it. If it had been me on the Dawn Hush, would I have reacted any differently? How can I judge her, without knowing what she went through? How can Zavala? She could have been threatened, tricked. How can we know what she felt?

...you are on the brink of collapse, Diz. You can't keep this pace up...

"They're going to leave, ghost. Dead Orbit. Or I'm right and they are going to be exterminated. Either way this will be the end for all of us."

Breathe. Stand. Fight.

Eyes up, guardian.

"Unless we catch Aliya Raine."

I want to go back to the tower. I am of no use to you. I am no danger to you. It's over. There is nothing more I can do. Nothing more you can do. Please. I want to go back to the tower. Let me go.

...Diz, I think we are being watched...

I slide into cover and freeze, back against the rockface. We had started our ascent, rising out of the jungle and up the mountainside. The Titan was too fast. We hadn't gained a metre in over an hour and now ghost had lost her signal.

So, Plan B. Get to the closest, highest vantage point and let ghost search. Based on the route Raine had taken so far there was a slim chance we could even get eyes on her.

"Being watched from where? By who?"

...I can't be certain. I'm getting irregular spikes in neutrino readings at ground level. With all the interference and dampening fields in operation any verification is impossible...

"Particle physics isn't my speciality."

...well, if I was trying to find someone in the chaos down here I might, concieveably, try a virtual neutrino spectrometer. Once I had my target I would dip into low orbit for a visual lock then hold it. Easy enough and hard to detect...

"And...?"

...after the neutrino spikes I caught partial contacts in the upper atmosphere. Fractions of a second. But it might have been a jumpship...

"Okay. So someone may be watching us. Is there anything we can do about it?"

...we still have no comms. No ship. No sparrow. We are deep in enemy territory in relatively exposed terrain, locked in pursuit of an extremely dangerous target. The short answer is no...

"Well then. One disaster at a time. We keep moving."

At the next ledge I holster my pistol and swing my sniper down from my back. The scope will be of use. I can feel sweat streaming down my spine, every muscle still burning. Another 100 metres, a final sprint and we are in position.

...beginning scan. Slightly superior signal integrity at this elevation. If she is still in range I should have her in a few minutes...

The lowlands of the jungle stretch out before us. I can see ships in the distance, tiny from here. I take position, flat on my stomach, and set the sight of my rifle.

...there are some breaks in the interference. I'm actually getting a little data from the local satellite feeds...

I scan the distance, looking for any sign of movement, anything that could give her location away. We are getting desperate, I know. Even if we find Raine the chances of catching her are now vanishingly small.

...Diz, it's happening. Dead Orbit have taken this area of the planet in force. They are digging out the gate. It's a massive assault Diz, looks like all of their forces. There hasn't been a coordinated attack by guardians like this since Mare Imbrium...

"And we all know how well that went."

...indeed. There has been some small scale vex retaliation, but Jalaals forces have totally overwhelmed them. The Fallen are clearing out as well, looks like they want no part of this. No activity yet from Rasputin...

"No. I'm sure we will know when he decides to act. If he does."

...I've got her, Diz. 2.1 kilometres, north north west...

I shift my position and scope, pinpointing the Titans location.

And then I see her.

...she is still headed for the gate. She has to get through some Vex if I am plotting her course correctly. It may slow her up enough for us to close the distance...

I watch her. Black armour edged with red. Tall and thickly set, but not unusually so for her class. Her movements are clean, fast and purposeful yet seemingly effortless. I spot Vex less than 50 feet ahead of her but she doesn't slow. Doesn't pause. They open fire and she scythes between the shots, brushing off the few that strike her. 10 feet from her targets she accelerates, smashing her shoulder through the first harpy. Then she is in their midst, shotgun in hand, surrounded but fearless even wihtout her ghost. A whirlwind of fire and fury. They fall, to fists and shells, collapsing, shattering apart as she tears through them. Gods she's fast. In seconds there is only a minotaur left. It charges forward, arm raised and slams it down on her with lethal force.

...Diz. Dead Orbit almost have the gate uncovered already. It's like the Vex wanted it to be easy to move...

"I'm sure they did."

She caught it. She just reached up and caught the minotaurs arm, braced herself and ripped it clean from the socket. The shotgun finished it. Then she is moving again. 15 seconds, maybe less, since she engaged them. No weapons but her shotgun and fists.

I think of those doors on the Dawn Hush, torn apart. Now it doesn't seem so strange.

...Diz...Diz, I have another contact in lower atmosphere...

I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't know what Raine has really done, or why. She fights like a monster, like nothing I've ever seen, but she is a guardian. Something made her this way, gave her that fury.

...Diz, I think we should move...

I could take the shot, now. Is that what Zavala would want? Is that what I want?

...Diz!...

Too late.

The scream of engines, a blast of heat and dust from all sides pins me down. I recognise the smell of atmospheric thrusters, the whine of manouvering jets.

Three jumpships have surrounded us.

This time, I know, there will be no escape.

Two years ago.

Another mission. What was once a port in northern Europe. Autumn rain at dawn.

A forest of masts, their shadows alive in the mist. Hundred of vessels pressed together by the sea.

I move from ship to ship, ghost beside me.

...another 100 metres. Very weak signal. No movement...

Many of the decks are damaged, many others half sunk below the dark water. Shattered rotten wood and rusted metal. The past being consumed by the world.

Vanishing.

"The sea rises and falls, like we walk on the chest of a giant beast. Perhaps we do?"

I have to climb a mast to get to the next boat, stepping then swinging between the tangled frames. I drop down onto the slippery wood, drawing my weapon as I land.

"Can you feel its heartbeat? I think I can."

...still nothing. He is belowdecks. 20 metres...

I advance in a crouch. Calm, ready.

This is what I do.

"One day soon. One day it will wake."

Broken ladders lead down, into the black. Another edge, another fall. Down to the end.

...the room ahead...

I see him now. Sat motionless at an old desk, slumped face down on the wood. Part of the hull has broken away, faint fingers of light reaching in.

"We all have the same fate. The only thing that seperates us is time."

Teach me the past and I'll tell you the future. I don't know who told me that, I can't remember. Strange. Some things are still so clear. The gun on the floor by his feet,the blood on the walls. And others are simply lost. Faded into the mist.

...no life signs. No trace of anyone else onboard. His ghost is gone. I can't get a signal anywhere. We should get moving, report back to Zavala...

This guardian must have known, I think. Known what was happening to him. What he had become.

"Life is change, but we don't change. The dead have more than we have. They have peace."

Then I see it.

On the floor, on the walls. Writing. Jagged letters, calling out from the shadows, scratched or carved onto every surface. The words he left behind.

"Are we dead or alive?"

The sea rises and falls, the breath of the beast below. Can you feel it's heartbeat?

...Diz...

I am falling. The world is rushing away from me and I am drowning, vanishing beneath a thousand voices.

...Diz, whats wrong?...

They are just words. Just shapes. Aren't they?

"I was chosen. I did not choose."

How did he get to this place? How did he become this person? Once, he was a guardian.

"I won't die at their hands again. I won't fall to any of them."

How did I get to this place? How did I become this person?

...Diz?...

"It must have been easier in the past. Believing in invisible gods, marching to war. Deus lo vult! we cried. God wills it!"

Once.

Once, I was a guardian.

... can you hear me?...

"Our God hangs dead above us, yet on we fight. Death after death, forever twilight. Why?"

...Diz...

"God wills it."

...Diz?...

"Please don't bring me back."

chapter 5 "E.L.E."

"So, Dizren ... it is Dizren, isn't it? We meet at last. Why don't we get started with why you broke into my quarters?"

Executor Hideo sits opposite me in the hold of the New Monarchy jumpship. My hands are restrained behind my back, weapon confiscated. My ghost has cloaked, remaining silent and hidden. Armed guardians in faction colours stand on either side. Another sits beside the pilot, watching me. Over their shoulders I see the surface of Venus rushing past. Hideo leans back against the hull, legs crossed, fingers steepled over his knees. His expression is blank but his eyes are alert, piercing. It feels a little cliche but he reminds me of a snake. A hungry, angry snake.

It would be fair to say this turn of events is unexpected.

"Well, hunter?"

A viper, maybe. Something venomous.

Focus, guardian. I have a decision to make here. What does he know? Why are New Monarchy on Venus? Where are they taking me? Think, Diz.

Lie to him. Tell him the truth. Tell him part of the truth. Tell him nothing.

Say something.

"Breaking into your quarters was random. I done it to throw suspiscion around."

When all else fails, try a measured degree of honesty.

"Odd," Hideo raises an eyebrow, "I actually think you might be telling the truth. A small fraction of it, at least."

The jumpship banks sharply to starboard then begins to rise, a steep climb through the cloud cover. I catch a glimpse of another New Monarchy vessel through the cockpit screen, also climbing fast. Wherever we are headed we are in a hurry.

"It was suspisciously difficult to find any information on you." Hideo continues, impressively unmoved as the jumpships acceleration pushes the rest of us towards the rear of the craft. "Almost nothing in your file. Who done that for you, I wonder?"

"I just don't get out much."

"Hmm. Sarcasm suits you, I'll give you that."

He smiles. It is almost unbearably insincere.

"Hideo, I don't wish to be rude, but...why have you kidnapped me?"

"Kidnapped? Oh, no no no. We haven't kidnapped you. Consider it ... forceful repositioning."

"Alright. Then why am I being forcefully repositioned?"

"Ah, a quick learner. I like that. My associates and I were observing the rather... unusual activity on the planet. Then who happens to show up but the little scamp who broke into my quarters. So we watched you, from orbit. In all honesty, it wasn't particularly challenging. The jumpship you destroyed certainly caught the eye. And then, would you believe, Commander Zavala contacts me and asks if we can extract you. But not to apprehend you. Heavens no. To, if possible, assist you. Curious, don't you think?"

"It's a puzzler."

"Indeed. Unfortunately, although I'm sure understandably, I don't have complete trust in you. Hence the restraints. So why does Zavala now want you assisted, not arrested? And what is really going on here?"

I have nothing to lose now. If I can't get off this ship my mission is scrubbed. Play the odds. Assume the worst. If I'm caught in a lie the chances of release drop to zero. Only keep secret the absolute essentials. It's too late for anything else.

"Ghost, you can show yourself. I need you."

...are you sure?...

"Yes."

My companion materialises beside me. Hideo remains silent, at ease, watching and listening. For a moment, I wonder if the Executor was the one hacking the towers security logs.

"I was given a search and rescue mission. A cargo transport called The Dawn Hush which had went dark. On board I found bodies, including that of a guardian, Lyssa Arret. I tracked the other members of her fireteam, Abdel Tarrat and Petr Song. Had to kill Tarrat. Song died in the explosion you saw earlier today on the surface."

As I speak my ghost flashes up holo images of dates, times and locations. It's a solid idea, I realise, trying to bombard Hideo with information. Worth a try.

"From what I have so far, they were studying the Vex transport system here on Venus. They found a giant gate, big enough to take a fleet through and believed they could control it. Jalaal is going to use it to take Dead Orbits forces out of the system."

"This is fascinating, hunter." the executor interrupts, "But you are omitting a central thread. Why are guardians dying?"

"The fireteam with Arret, Song and Tarrat. They found the gate while answering a distress signal, sent by another guardians ghost. The titan, Aliya Raine. I think she was working for Rasputin, that the warmind sent her to destroy the gate, to prevent what is now happening."

"Dead orbits exodus?"

"Yes. They found Raine, barely alive and her ghost destroyed. When they tried to transport her offworld on the Dawn Hush, Rasputin intervened, crippling the ship and reviving her."

"Then this Titan, Raine, killed the crew. Including a fellow guardian? Assisted by the notoriously reclusive warmind? You are stretching the bounds of credulity here, my girl."

"Nothing else fits, Hideo. Now she is back on Venus. It was Raine who attacked us earlier and killed Petr Song. Now she is heading back to the gate. I'm under orders from Zavala to track her down."

"And...?"

"Apprehend her."

"Awful lie, Dizren. Awful. I am quite sure you have been asked to kill her, and understandably so given her recent behaviour. And what else do you know of this gate?"

"I think Dead Orbit would have found it eventually, otherwise Rasputin wouldn't have intervened. Because the Vex wanted them to find it. Wanted them to use it. The entire surrounding area is laced with a formation of hundreds of other gates. It's a trap. And Dead Orbit are already inside."

My ghost throws up the map images we had studied together, the rings of gates ensnaring their target.

"At least you have that part correct.", sighs Hideo, "As for the rest, well, I'm sure you are trying your best."

He nods to one of the crew who steps froward and de-activates my restraints.

"Alright Dizren. As desperately thin on detail and peppered with half truths as that was, I feel inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt. For now. As I'm sure you've guessed, not all of this is news to me. As New Monarchys Executor I have my own ... sources. Sadly, we still have more questions than answers. Zavala gave you the original mission to find the Dawn Hush, yes?"

Shit.

"Yes."

"You have both been lying about it to try and draw out an infiltrator in our ranks, who has been breaching tower security to monitor these events."

Double shit. How does he know this?

"Yes."

"Now you are worrying about how I know these things. Do not. I am not your enemy. I am not the traitor, or colluding with them. Like it or not, we are on the precipice of catastophe. We must now help each other."

...Diz, we are out of time. If Raine completes her mission and flees the planet we may never get another chance at her...

"Okay, fairs fair Executor. Where are we going? Where are you taking me?"

Hideo examines a datapad as I speak. He beckons to another one of the crew, mutters a few commands. I feel the ship begin to bank again, angling down in a port side descent.

"We are swinging in a series of wide loops to avoid tracking from several Dead Orbit monitoring posts. We wish to stay in the area for now, but hopefully undetected for a little longer."

He lowers the datapad and meets my eyes before continuiing.

"Whatever is happening here, I wasn't surprised to find Jalaal and Dead Orbit on the wrong side of it. They are selling their souls for this... this fantasy. Have you ever spent time in the city, guardian? With the people we protect? Some of them believe the Traveller is a curse. Some a god. Others believe we are merely the ghosts puppets. But we give our lives to protect them, nonetheless. Because, together, we are all that is left. Dead Orbit, you must understand, wish to leave them behind. Sacrifice them all. Their lives, our lives, are the price Jalaal is willing to pay. You do understand this, don't you?"

"Hideo, I don't care about Dead Orbit. I don't care about the Arach. Faction politics are glorified board games. I need to find Aliya Raine and deal with her. That's my mission."

"Interesting perspective you have there, hunter. And what of the gate?"

"That's above my pay grade. If I can help I will, but I have to deal with Raine no matter what else is happening."

"Both concerningly short sighted and clearly a partial truth. If you are going to lie to me do a better job of lying to yourself first."

I am pushed back again against the hull by the crafts acceleration, then a brief moment of weightlessness as we go into a hard dive. I see flashes of mountainside through the plexiglass as the jumpship fights the turbulence. Hideos gaze never leaves me.

"Have you heard of Dredgen Yor, I wonder? A foolish question. Of course you have." he sits back again and takes a deep, tired breath before continuiing, "I mention it because the story of Yor doesn't fill me with despair, guardian, like it does for others. It gives me hope. That our will is our own. That we choose our fate. We are not simply puppets, we are doing good because we choose to do so. And you ... now you have a choice to make."

"I have a job to do, Hideo. If I can do it. I appreciate the philosophy class but I have more pressing matters to deal with. Raine is a killer and I need to find her. Hopefully before those gates start filling the Ishtar Sink with Vex. Never mind what could come through the main gate."

"Dear oh dear, hunter. I had genuinely hoped you were smarter than this. I doubt they would use the gate to bring anything through. What a wasteful enterprise that would be. It would be much more useful for taking something away."

"Away? What could they want to take away?"

"Really, Dizren, how depressing. What can you possibly think of that's 1.2 km across and spherical?"

Everything is simple when you know the answer.

"Oh, hell."

"An accurate assessment. Your success or failure here may be of far greater import than you believed. I can help you get through their perimeter, Diz, that much I can do. Then you are on your own."

I want to know what happened to them. I want to return to the tower. Answer me. I need to know what happened. I need to go back.

"Incoming ordnance, Executor." the pilots voice over the intercom.

"Identified?" Hideo has returned his attention to the datapad as he replies. He doesn't appear concerned.

"Dead Orbit, short-range surface to air missile. It has acquired us and is homing. 60 seconds till impact."

"Maintain course and speed." he hands the pad off to one of the officers and meets my gaze, "Jalaal won't kill us. He just doesn't want us interfering. Ignore the missile. Drink?"

I take the flask he offers and glance at the other crewmembers.

Taking their lead from Hideo, they don't seem worried.

I take a swig. Sadly, only water.

"At the risk of being the odd one out here, Executor, I'm not that comfortable ignoring missiles. In my experience they tend to somewhat grab the attention. Can you let me off here?"

"Now now Dizren, don't be so melodramatic."

...30 seconds till impact, Diz...

The Executor isn't even looking at me, he is reading a message on a wall monitor.

"We are going to die, Hideo."

"Oh yes. I'd say it was a certainty at some point."

...20 seconds. Do something Diz, this is insane...

A touch of panic is rising in my chest but the atmosphere is so subdued, the situation so surreal, I feel almost powerless to act.

"Do something Hideo. This is crazy."

"Do calm down, my friend. You're embarrassing yourself."

...5 seconds...

My entire body has tensed, hands gripping the hull.

...brace for impact...

A dull thud echoes around the vessels interior. Noone on board has so much as flinched. Their faith in Hideo is, frankly, breathtaking.

...the missile was never armed, Diz. Just an attempt to scare us off...

"Pilot?" says Hideo, a faint smirk on his lips.

"No further contacts. 5 minutes till dropzone, executor."

"Excellent. A whole 5 minutes. Let's continue our chat, shall we Dizren?"

"I'd rather not, to be honest."

"Well, I'll chat. You listen. Continuiing war is defeat. The only victory will be peace, through a decisive unified move, all of us as one. We have no divine right to success. We have no monopoly on righteousness, or bravery. The Fallen who died at the Gap were no less brave than the guardians who fell alongside them. We will need every one of us if we are to survive the years ahead. Good, bad or somewhere in between. That gate needs to be destroyed, hunter. Perhaps you should help Raine do just that? If you succeed, there may even be a place for you in New Monarchy."

That smile is back on his lips. He is playing with me.

"No thanks. Like you said, I work for Zavala. I'm not sure he would be happy about that."

"Of course. The good commander. We would have put Zavala on a throne, you know, if he would only have accepted. I used to think he wasn't willing to sacrifice but seeing you, here and now, I may have been wrong. Now he seems a little too keen to sacrifice, yes? The sign of a guilty conscience, perhaps? A need to atone? Or has he simply ... lost his way?"

"Not Zavala. He'll be in the tower long after we are both gone."

"Long after you, certainly."

"3 minutes, Executor." the pilots voice again.

"Thankyou." Hideo pauses, watches me, "Have you seen that painting in his office, I wonder?"

"I don't think it's any of your business Hideo, help or no help."

We hold each others stare, just a moment.

What am I learning? What am I giving away?

"Comms, executor." one of the officers interjects, "Dead orbit forward command."

"Ah. Here we go." Hideo winks at me, "Put them through, please."

There is a crackle on the internal speakers, then the voice of Arach Jalaal.

"Last chance, Hideo. Turn back or I blow you out of the sky."

"Ha!" the executor looks genuinely amused, "Don't be ridiculous, Arach."

"This isn't one of your games, Executor. What do you think you are doing here?"

"Such aggression! Aren't we all comrades?"

"Only when it suits you. Only when it suits the Consensus. New Monarchy has no place here. I can only assume you have come to knife me in the back like you did Lysander."

"Now, no need for that, Jalaal. This is madness and you must surely see that. With your forces withdrawn the city may already be under attack."

"And? That end is inevitable, now or 10 years from now it matters not. There is no future here, Hideo. Petr Song saw the truth. Millions of vex, waiting, ready to swarm across our system."

"The Vex showed him this? And what else did they wish him to see?"

"It matters not. I learned all that I needed to."

Hideo rolls his eyes, a palpable disdain in his voice.

"Do you actually believe you can outthink the Vex, Arach? You have been baited. Soon you will be trapped. You may wish to apply a touch more critical thinking to this situation."

"And what of you? I am acting, something the rest of the Consensus seems mortally afraid of. You are all clinging to a dead hope. We are leaving. There is no need to fight us."

"Vivere est militare, my friend."

There is a brief silence.

"Damn you, Hideo."

Now there is only static.

"Comms cut, executor." the officers voice over the intercom.

Hideo shrugs his shoulders, leaning back and looking to the sky.

"We just aren't learning are we, Dizren? As a species, that is. We are forgetting every lesson, repeating the mistakes of our ancestors ad infinitum. Without memory there is no future."

I don't know what to say. We are wasting time.

"60 seconds to dropzone, executor." the pilot.

"The truth is before us, for all to see." Hideos voice is quieter, "And those who fear to see truth are already lost."

"You mean Jalaal?"

"No, he is another problem entirely. He makes his own truth. For the moment you are my priority. Open your eyes, hunter. Your veneer of spiteful disregard becomes almost painfully transparent the longer I am with you. You are breaking apart at the seams, my girl. Remember what you are fighting for. Remember why you haven't given up already."

His tone is bordering on condesension, something I generally respond to with violence. I take a breath. Now is not the time. No more distractions. Get onto the surface. Get back to work.

But...had Hideo been serious before? That the gates purpose was the theft of the traveller? No. Don't think about that. Only focus on what you can effect.

"15 seconds, executor." the pilot through the intercom.

"It's time." Hideo gets to his feet as he speaks, "This Titan you are following, Diz. I don't know why Aliya Raine is working for Rasputin, but I am willing to bet my life it is for the greater good, and the warmind has chosen a single guardian to assist him because he cannot trust the Vanguard as a whole. Look at Jalaal and you will see that may be correct. Do not kill her, Dizren. Give her a chance. You must always consider the possibility that everything you believe is completely and utterly false. Don't you think?"

"Even you?"

"Always. But I have a weakness for risky business. Ready?"

"Ready. You ask a lot of questions, Hideo."

"It's the best way to get answers, Dizren. Or didn't you know that?"

He smiles thinly, but at least this time it seems genuine.

I feel the vessel manuevering, battling the air currents as we cut closer to the surface.

...we are through Dead Orbits perimeter Diz, 2 miles from the gate...

The port side door of the dropships hold slides back. Light spills in, followed by the roar of the wind. The scenery tears past, blurred by speed. Hideo moves to the edge and I follow.

"Where are you transmatting me down?" I have to shout to make myself heard.

"Transmatting in this interference? You do make me laugh, hunter. Stand by for resurrection, ghost."

I am lost.

This memory, fading, now feels less than a dream. Just a scar in the back of my mind, pushed out of sight. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to see this.

I am lost.

Walking in the night, still hours from dawn. The long grass moves like water in the cold dry wind. Pale and laced with shadow in the starlight, a ghostly caress in a breathless rush through the valley.

Now hush.

I am lost.

Alone.

I don't know what is happening.

There is a darkness behind me. Words, images.

Fear is following.

It drives me before it like a wounded animal. I cannot look at it. I cannot stop. To stop, to think, is to draw it closer.

It is watching me.

Keep moving.

A thin forest is ahead. Tall bare trees, dying in grey dust.

Why am I in this place?

I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be alone.

But I am lost.

...Diz...

I think I hear a voice.

No.

I can't.

How can I hear a voice when I am alone? There is nothing but the wind. My footsteps. My breath.

My heartbeat.

Something moves between the trees.

80 degrees 2 metre elevation tracking movement north west 7 mps firing.

In the still of the morning the gunshot is deafening.

The echoes fade like a dying heart.

My gun is in my hand, I realise, a tiny whisper of smoke rising from the barrel.

Reflex.

I had fired before I even understood what was happening.

I walk closer, see the body.

Just a rabbit. Thin to the point of emaciation, dirty grey fur around the wound.

I killed it.

Of course.

Of course I did.

This is what I do.

This is what I am.

Keep moving.

...Diz, can you hear me?...

It is following.

The dark.

It wants death. It wants the world to be still.

I cannot fight this tide. I am only a part of the wave. I must makes things still. I must make this peace.

I pass through the forest, watching the land as the sun rises.

It wants death.

This is what I am.

...Diz, your cochlear nerve is registering input. For whatever reason you are filtering out my voice or conciously choosing to ignore me. I need you try and hear me, hunter...

There are buildings ahead.

Little more than wooden shacks, clustered together at the base of the valley.

No movement. I scan the doors and windows, my hand on the grip of my weapon.

There is a recess in the hillside, a passage into the earth.

A mining town, then. Abandoned.

I move between the huts. Watch the corners. Taste the air.

Something is wrong here.

...I am trying to contact Cayde. Get someone to pick us up. This is enemy territory, Diz. If you can hear me, I am picking up hive signatures around the mine entrance. We don't need this. Lets just get out of here...

There is something here.

Something I need to silence.

I am being watched.

There.

They swarm from the tunnel entrance, dozens of thralls and acolytes.

Claws and limbs and eyes flashing in the sunlight.

Noise. Movement.

They need to be silenced.

And this is what I do.

It only takes a minute.

...well, at least your gunskill is alive and well. There is another signature in that mine. Not worth our time, Diz. Just walk away. Just leave...

There is a voice, whispering beneath the earth.

Calling me.

I step between the corpses, reloading my weapon.

It is laughing.

I must make peace.

Go into the night, quiet the voice.

End it.

...Cayde? Cayde, can you hear me? This connection is terrible...

A hive wizard.

I see her eyes, burning with a cold fire.

I advance.

Her arc strikes at me, shearing off my shield and tearing the cave walls apart around me.

I empty the clip, precision shots, rolling forward for the final two.

She flees.

I stand in the dark, breathing heavily as my shield regens.

I can't hear her any longer.

She is gone beneath the earth.

That will do.

...oh now you leave? Seriously, Diz. Cayde? Cayde, yes I can hear you now. Yes. I'm sending the coordinates. I need your help. We need your help...

The dark behind me presses close again.

It rises as the sun falls.

I cannot escape.

This forest, this place.

It cannot abide it.

I cannot abide it.

...she won't respond to me. No, nothing. Ever since we found Mel Vias body. Yes, on the boats. I don't know Cayde. No, nothing. Nothing. There was...writing, words on the walls. Via, I think. She just started walking...

Cut them down. Raze the ground.

There is fuel in one of the sheds.

It takes time but I spread it throughout the buildings. Pour it on the bases of the trees. On the dying grass.

Until there is nothing left.

...well it clearly is a problem. She won't speak. She won't respond in any way. And she is ... killing. Oh don't be facetious Cayde. Everything. Everything she sees. Deer, rabbits, birds. Hive as well, to be fair, but thats not the point. No, listen to me. Listen to me. There is a human settlement ahead...

Fire.

It turns this world to ash and I leave it behind.

Keep walking.

Keep moving.

Into the night.

...well you reap what you sow, Cayde. I am well aware of that. We done this to her, the three of us. She can't keep doing this. It will kill her and its not the kind of death I can bring her back from. Well, what will it take? What will it take to get him to see reason? Take her off these missions. Permanently. I don't care who else, Cayde. We are killing her...

Breathe.

Walk.

See.

Act.

Kill.

This is what I am.

This is what I do.

...how long now? Can't you cut across that zone? You are. Alright. Alright. A few minutes maybe, its impossible to say. 6 adults, 4 children. Please Cayde. You have to stop her...

More buildings ahead.

More sound, more movement.

Bodies. Shapes. Targets.

It is following me. It is watching.

It needs the silence.

I need the silence.

...you won't have time to land. Just fire on us. Use the jumpships pulse cannon and fire on us. Dammit, do it Cayde. Just do it...

It will only take a moment.

10 targets.

10 shots.

End the noise, the movement.

End the fear.

End it.

...Diz. Don't do this. Please don't do this. These are people, Diz. Children. You are not alone, hunter. You are not what you have done. I am with you, Diz. I am with you and I will always be with you. No matter what...

It has followed me all my life.

The darkness.

And now.

Now it has found me.

I am lost.

We are back on the surface.

The New Monarchy ships are gone, accelerating into the vivid sky. A moment later two Dead Orbit jumpships race overhead in pursuit.

"Alone again, eh?"

...You are never alone Diz. You've got me...

"You know what I mean."

...I hope so. What's our move?...

"Let's get to Raine. Then we'll see."

...I know planning was never your strong suit, but...

"I just don't know ghost. I don't know what to do."

...indecision will get you killed...

"Well, that's why i have you, isn't it?"

I slide into cover, checking my weapons as my ghost scans ahead and plots a course. Dead Orbits forces are encamped over the miles ahead of us. I can see ships still landing, not just guardian jumpships but cargo vessels and transports of a hundred kinds.

...okay Diz, I've mapped the best route I can, displaying now on your HUD. I think I caught a glimpse of Raine on my first sweep but I can't be certain, there is still too much interference, particularly at this elevation...

"What do we have to get through to reach the gate?"

...two miles, eta while remaining concealed is approximately 30 minutes. Dead orbit are still establishing a secure perimeter so I've found a few cracks we can exploit. Based on the most recent stats in the vanguard database Jalaal has already assembled 96% of their forces on the surface, with vessels still coming in every minute. They are as ready as they will ever be...

"So what are they waiting for?"

...from the local net comms chatter I've managed to pick up they appear to be raising the gate, to stand it vertically. I'm not sure of the reason, although I have always wondered why the gates are consistently positioned that way. Maybe something to do with the gravitational field...

"I'm sure it's fascinating, but I need some numbers. How long do we have? Best guess."

...if they have enough battery power ready they can go live as soon as the gate is in position. Could be a matter of minutes...

I am moving again, crouched low, sliding and rolling in the shadows, eyes up, weapon ready. Get to the gate. Get to Raine.

...and I tried to raise the tower again but long range comms are still completely scrambled. Diz, contact, 50 metres southwest...

I drop down into a small channel in the ground, a trickle of water running through it. I can hear voices in the distance, the sound of plantlife being stripped away. A Dead Orbit maintenance crew, clearing the ground for security turrets or a sensor outpost, most likely.

This is really happening. Jalaal will take his forces through that gate or the Vex will ambush and obliterate them before they can. And another collapse will have begun. Like nothing we have seen before.

In the back of my mind, Hideos words are stirring. Could the Vex really use the gate to take the Traveller?

That wouldn't be just another fight. It would be the last fight.

I would lose my ghost.

We all would.

A world without light.

...they have their backs to us. Stay in this channel, follow the water for another hundred metres then cut left...

I move as silently as I can, watching the ground for anything I could trip or slide on.

"Ghost. Do you think Hideo is right? That the gate was built to take the traveller?"

...It's impossible to say. The dimensions are certainly a match. And without Dead Orbits fleet and guardians to protect the city, the gate could, in theory, be dismantled and transported there with much less resistance than would normally be expected. Then rebuilt once on Earth and put to use. Considered, from the perspective of the Vex collective, there is a kind of logic to it. If time and resources are of no real concern, how do you take the Traveller and leave its defenders with no chance of recovering it? Zero chance of pursuit. How to draw out and elimate a third of the forces protecting it and the majority of the airforce? They couldn't have hidden the gate on Earth, it would be discovered. Not the moon because of the Hive. So Mars or Venus. They have far greater control over Venus. The more I examine it the less crazy it sounds...

"No, it still sounds just as crazy. But that doesn't mean its wrong."

There is a sudden hush, a change in the texture of the sound around us.

I can hear my heart beat as we are cast in darkness.

Ahead of us the gate rises upright into the sky, several dozen ships around it like flies, pushing or pulling the giant structure with focused magnetic fields.

It rises like a giant getting to its feet, the shadow racing and stretching across the land, caressing us in its false night.

A feeling I barely recognise. It's been so long, so many years since I felt this ice inside.

Fear.

...Diz, the gate is coming online. I'm reading power spikes from the generators at the base. If we were right the Vex will attack any moment now. If not, Dead Orbit will be gone. Either way is disaster...

Yes, I am afraid.

Of my enemies. Of my so called allies. Of the future. Of myself.

But I know there is no going back now. We are tumbling toward an inevitable end, helpless pawns. Is this how Dredgen Yor felt, I wonder. If there is no hope left, if there is nothing to fight for, then why should any action have consequence? Why shouldn't I let the dark take me.

...eyes up guardian. Snap out of it and let's move. I've got Raine. She is through Dead Orbits lines, closing on the gate...

I breathe again, my ghosts voice pulling me back to reality.

The only path left is forward.

So I take it.

...We aren't going to catch her now, Diz. The best we can do is intercept at the gate or when she tries to escape. She is definitely carrying something, but it's not an explosive. It would be too easy for a scan to spot, anyway. If I had to make a guess I think it might be a transmitter of some sort...

I am moving faster now, trading caution for speed, hoping the rise of the gate will take eyes away from our direction.

"Why not a bomb? A bomb would be good, surely."

...Because Rasputin is smarter than we are, Diz. A bomb destroys one gate. But with a transmitter... if Raine can get him into the Vex network he could destroy not only that gate, but every other gate he can access. He could clear the Ishtar Sink...

We are cutting past the Dead Orbit encampment now, past ships and equipment.

Less than a mile to go.

...guardian...

I can feel it before my ghost even speaks, a charge running through the earth. The vibration, an electricity in the air. It is rising from the ground, permeating the world.

On the edge of hearing, the edge of feeling.

Power.

And they light up.

Those fluid rings of energy, Vex transfer gates. All around us, hundreds, thousands, running into the distance. Hidden for centuries, awaiting this moment. All across the landscape, as far as I can see.

Then they come.

Dark shapes moving out of the light, an uncountable legion flowing, swarming silently towards us.

Those red eyes.

...thousands of Vex signatures, Diz. Hundreds of thousands...

It begins.

Flashes of weapons fire, blinding me with sheer volume. The streaks of sniper fire, the pounding eruptions from minotaurs cannons.

A shot clips my shoulder taking off my shield as the ground is torn apart around me.

I drop and fire blindly back, scrambling for cover.

A cargo ship explodes in a ball of flame and metal behind me, I hear the screams of wounded men and women, a rush of heat.

...30 degrees 20 metres, 3 targets...

I spin up and let off three rounds, aiming centre of mass. Three Vex shatter into fluid and wreckage.

...fall back north west, use those rocks as cover. Grenade...

I toss it back over my shoulder and break into a sprint, the cacophony around me now deafening in intensity.

...90% of Dead Orbits fleet were still on the ground. Most of the other 10 % have been shot down already...

The precipice of catastophe, Hideo had said.

And here we are.

...Dead Orbits guardians, all of their people. They're going to be slaughtered Diz. They don't have a chance...

Those dark figures, those red eyes. They are closing in.

And there is no escape.

...EarthWarmind designation Rasputin . DATASTREAM 103/187932 . assessing tactical action . VenusGrid112 . building tactical model . probability of agent GTRaine success - 91% . probablity of agent success within restricting timeframe without unacceptable loss to guardian forces - 0.4% . calculating . projected local guardian mortality 97% . forecast depletion of tower defences unacceptable . calculating . analysis confirmed . restructuring tactical action . overriding washington protocol . accept . overriding veil protocols . accept . direct action authorised . setting combat readiness VO . dissemenating updated protocols . initiate tactical action order 33vg112 . powering VO assets 3 - 33 . all systems report live . comms contact broadcast . blanket strike is not authorised . precison fire only . uploading target packages . uploading targeting protocols . exchanging authorisation . authenticating . transmit source flag EarthWarmind . RasputinActual to all active assets . target packages authorised . targeting protocols authorised . all assets engage . fire at will fire at will fire at will...

...wait, I'm getting ... Diz get down...

Instinct takes over. A decade together has drilled an instant synergy into our movements, particularly in combat.

My ghost flashes a light marker at the nearest cover and I throw myself foward.

My vision whites out, a scream in my ears and then the impacts, dozens of them, the ground shaking like an earthquake below me, tossing me like a doll back into the dirt.

The air is filled with dust, a pause in the barrage as both sides regroup.

"What the hell was that."

...weapons installations in low orbit are firing on the vex. I think it's Rasputin...

There is a spark at those words, the tinest light of hope in my chest. I gasp for breath, back on my feet, gun in hand.

I am a guardian.

The spark kindles into fire and burns away the fear, the guilt, the hate.

I am a guardian.

And this isn't over.

"Ghost, route to the gate. Call out targets as we move."

Energy surges through me and I am alive, instinct and training and the gift of the light meshed into the purest killing force.

...priority targets marked. 5 minutes to the gate. Target flags 1.3, 1.4...

Fire. Move. Reload. One movement, once chance.

Do not miss.

Do not fail.

...flags 1.9, 2.2 to 2.5...

Firing. Targets down.

The ecstacy, the trance of combat as everything falls away but the next target, the next kill. This is who I am. This is what I am.

...target flags 4.1 to 4.4, 3 minotaurs 15 metres...

I see but I don't slow. I let the fire inside grow, the flames of the light unleashed they tear through my body and seal me in fire. I channel it, focus it, the energy surging down my arm and forming into the golden weapon in my hand.

The shots are away in under a second, incinerating the 3 machines to nothing but a dust I run through.

The bombardment from above continues, devasting the Vex formations, cutting a swathe of destruction through them.

The taste of their death is on the air.

...Raine is inside the lower levels of the gate. The Vex are there too. I'm detecting heavy weapons fire inside...

Another squad ahead, I cut through them with a magazine and a knife. Forward.

...I think the transmitter is attached, but if Rasputin is going to maintain access Raine will have to defend it for the time being...

I see guardians fall around me, a warlock cut down by a dozen harpies, a titan falling with his fist through a minotaurs chest, countless humans and awoken but I cannot stop. The sky is blackened, the ground shakes again and I have to roll to keep momentum.

... Jalaals forces are trying to form a defensive perimeter, if they can hold their lines they mights survive a little longer...

The gate is only metres ahead, an entrance to the installation blown apart calls me on.

...even if Rasputin gets into the network he won't have long before they react. He can't take on the entire Vex network. Can he?...

I Am Rasputin.

DATASTREAM 112/1087901 . launching vex network incursion . contact initiated . negotiating with host . assessing firewalls . fault line marking initiated . running siege protocols . manufacturing breach . accessing . manufacturing authorisation . ! threat detection ! . access loss . vex countermeasures initiated . direct attack in progress . building secondary access points . rerouting access patterns . releasing decoy agents . autoreplication in progress . re-assessing firewalls . fault line marking initiated . running siege protocols . ! threat detection ! . vex retaliatory strike . direct attacks in progress . initial firewall failures VO secondary command/VO active assets/VO active monitoring . deploying countermeasures . emergency firewalls in place . auto rebuild rotational pattern encyption . hardline bulkheads standing by . progress check - manufacturing breach of vex firewalls - 16% / DATASTREAM 1367/1087901 . asset 5 . fire pattern alpha2 target group 77 . all batteries . execute . asset 29 . fire pattern alpha1 target group 17 . main batteries . execute . asset 10 . reposition to attached co-ordinates . manouevering thrusters only . track target group 996 . standby . asset 17 . suppression fire . rotation on all target groups in attached coordinate grid . secondary battery failure detected . performance degradation 77% . damage assessment . autorepair initiated . asset 10 . engage assigned targets . all batteries . red line r.o.f. . fire at will / DATASTREAM 90/1087901 . force comms contact broadcast . to dead orbit command/arach jalaal . stream broadcast all secure channels . transmit source flag EarthWarmind . this is RasputinActual to Dead Orbit forward command . consolidate and redeploy forces to positions indicated on attached tactical map . fail to comply and I will cease fire support . deviate in any way from my instructions and I will cease fire support . do not reply . transmission ends . comms contact broadcast . to NewMonarchy task force V1EH . deployments proceeding . begin attack run . strike pattern ISN12 . warning orbital fire danger close . transmission ends / DATASTREAM 112/1087901 . progress check - manufacturing breach of vex firewalls - 39%...

...Diz, I'm tracking more jumpships coming in from the south. I think it's Hideo with a new Monarchy strikeforce...

I want to reply but I can't spare the focus.

I launch another swarm grenade into the next corridor then plough through with my hand cannon, sacrificing my shield for the extra shots to cut the vex down. No time to play it safe.

...keep going, straight ahead. Raine is still holding out but there are dozens of vex signatures between us and her...

I turn the corridor and am struck by the light of the sun again. A section of the wall has been vaporised by weapons fire, a window into hell.

I see more fire from rasputin raining down, a few jumpships left in the sky, damaged but making pass after pass until they fall. Dead orbits forces fall back, desperate, hopelessly outnumbered but brave, making the Vex pay a hundred lives for every inch of ground.

Hold on.

...Those New Monarchy ships Diz, they are punching a hole through the Vex line. Some of Jalaals forces are making a push from the other side. With Rasputins bombardment, if they can control the high ground they might have a chance...

I take the next corridor, a shot drops the shield of a minotaur and I cut him off at the knees. My golden gun is back for the next. Forward.

...Raine isn't far, 50 metres. If we are going to take her out, we might never get a better chance...

In my mind I still see the scene above us, see Dead Orbits guardians lost, ghosts destroyed, fighting to the end.

...I think they've done it. The vex formations to the north are broken, Dead Orbits ships can escape. They are pushing through now...

The entire structure suddenly shakes with an impact from above and I am thrown forward, rolling onto my back around the next turn.

...there she is...

I see Raine, surrounded by broken vex, transmitter still intact beside her, smashing a goblin apart with her fists.

Behind her a final minotaur raises its arm to strike and this time she doesn't see it. This time, exhausted, overwhelmed, defenceless, this time it will strike her down.

Still on my back I raise my weapon and sight it as time slows.

Sound, vision, thought.

The world is a dream at one tenth speed.

I have her in my sights.

Is this how it ends?

Our eyes meet. Aliya Raine sees me, sees my weapon and begins to turn for the minotaur but she will be too late. She is helpless.

And I never miss.

I fire.

The vex torso shatters apart and it collapses backwards to the floor.

And Raine is gone.

...DATASTREAM 103/1087901 . asset 13 . fire pattern delta9 target group 1342 . main batteries . execute . asset 19 . evasive action pattern RG1 . launch countermeasures . redeploy to support coordinates VOA14 . sustained precision fire . secondary battery . vex position 254 . execute . asset 14 . incoming fire . damage assesment . autorepair initiated . engage aux power and redirect to port aft shielding . main battery retarget for ordnance suppression . execute . asset 20 . evasive action pattern delta1 . fire pattern delta7 target groups 1002-1005 . all batteries . execute . asset 4 . incoming fire . ! signal loss ! . scanning . asset loss confirmed . all assets . debris alert - coordinates attached . reset formations . pattern beta5 . execute / DATASTREAM 90/1087901 . comms contact broadcast . to LysCon . standby for package delivery . transmission ends . / DATASTREAM 112/1087901 . progress 66% . VOmonitoring reporting firewall collapse . loss of executive control imminent . time critical . probability of operation failure approaching termination threshold . processing . preparing alternate assault . / DATASTREAM 90/1087901 . comms contact broadcast . to tower GTZavala . your comms will be restored . estimate standard time 13.01.35 . maintain monitoring . do not reply . transmission ends / DATASTREAM 112/1087901 . alternate assault pattern confirmed . rerouting access strikes . strike . processing . breach detected . vex firewall collapse in progress . breach confirmed . manufacturing authorisation . local zero point level access . access granted . deactivating vex local defensive systems . deactivating vex local offensive systems . deactivating vex local gate network . uploading Odovocar strike package . dissemenating to targeted vex assets . processing / DATASTREAM 103/1087901 . all active assets . autofire . preset targeting protocol gamma3 . blanket strike is now authorised . prepare to execute on command only . standy / DATASTREAM 201/1087901 . comms contact incoming transmission . identify . ! source alert ! - vex local network . quarantine data . scanning . data cleared . accept . translating . "conflict illogical action illogical guardian defeat inevitable cease action query purpose query expectation" . forming reply . sealing package . sending . comms contact broadcast . to Vex local network . I am patience . I am vengeance .

I Am Rasputin

...Raine is clear of the gate. What were you thinking, Diz?...

"I don't know. I don't know why."

...I'm still tracking her, moving northwest out of the combat zone. We might get another shot...

"I can't do this, ghost. Take another life. Another guardian."

My voice tails off. Hands shake. Skin cold.

Ghost is speaking but it's hard to understand, to process.

I am breaking apart.

Escape.

Survive.

Fight.

Kill.

No.

No I can't.

Not anymore.

This has to end.

...the Dead Orbit ships are all clear. Hideos people too. They made it. Let's keep moving guardian...

I can't.

This has to end.

Their voices have haunted me for years and I can't take anymore.

I struggle forward, climbing through wreckage, back into the light. Smoke streams into the sky, blankets of darkness snapping in the wind.

Another shattering impact strikes the ground, throwing me back against the structure. I see machine bodies tossed into the sky, broken and lifeless. Only pieces fall.

All before is death, ruin as far as I can see.

The art of war.

...Rasputin is still firing on the remaining Vex. That's why he didn't take out the transfer gates. To draw more through because he knew he could trap them here. Isolate them. Then exterminate them...

Gasping for breath, shaking with adrenaline, I watch it happen.

Stretched out across the landscape before me, the remaining Vex being torn apart, defenceless against the wrath of the warmind.

The taste of their death is on the air.

I walk through the fire as it rains down around me.

I holster my weapon and watch them burn.

Walk through this hell we have made.

And now I see her.

Through the smoke, sat on a cliff edge. Her back to me, weapon by her side. Weak sun fights past the gathering clouds. The sounds of collapsing Vex structures fade away. The heat of my body, the hammer of my heart.

I walk towards her through a golden field alive with flame, as the death of the land blackens the sky.

In this time.

In this place.

This is where my path ends.

This is who I am.

Now I see her.

Aliya Raine.

A guardian, like me. Shaped by this world we have made.

Armour scarred and torn. Heat still rising from the barrel of her rifle. Bruised, wounded, healed, moulded, scarred, burned, outnumbered, outgunned, surrounded, defeated and reborn.

Over and over.

Yet still a guardian. Still a light in the dark, at the last, she remains.

Unbroken.

"I've been waiting for you." Aliya Raines voice is heavy, low but clear over the sound of the growing storm.

...I don't like this, Diz. Rasputin is still interfering with comms. Something isn't right. Pull back. This is wrong, get us out of here...

The Titan climbs to her feet, gathering her weapon. Only then does she turn to face me. A thin rain has begun to fall, little more than mist, sparkling in the flashes of light.

My hand is at my side. Ready.

And here we are.

"Why did you do this?" my voice cracks, frail compared to her own, "What did the warmind offer you? What did it threaten you with?"

...get us out of here, Diz...

Raine watches me, breathes deeply. Stretches her shoulders, regrips her weapon.

The rain is pouring now, suddenly cold on my skin, emptying the dark sky.

"Rasputin offered me this." she looks around, an edge to her words, the tip of the spear. "He promised me you, hunter. Brought to me, alone, with no chance of escape. With your puppet master Zavala listening. He promised me the guardian killer. The one who murdered my friends. So I could deliver the justice you deserve."

Now I see.

chapter 6 "Deus Lo Vult"

Marin Prime. Vaz Night. Qin. Artem Durell. Cassie Lane, Neve White and Bear. Rush Al-Tir. Chell Barrin. Prita and Sela Jarte. Jean Carom-Fell. Vallis-4. Dvorak Sin. Zachary Delve. Hassan Revere. Alyssa Caniero. Aliz Vasquez. Mel Via. Daron-6. Abdel Tarrat.

It is quiet, now.

No ships in the sky, only clouds and the falling rain.

No weapons, no fire, no screams.

Only the wind across the dead.

The broken machines. The pools of blood.

Dirt and smoke and the promise of night.

This is all that remains.

Raine stands twenty feet from me, waiting.

...Diz, comms are back up. Patching the Tower through now...

Zavalas voice, at last.

"Diz, can you hear me? What's your status, guardian?"

"Still alive. Rasputin stopped the Vex. Helped Dead Orbit escape."

"I know, I just spoke with Hideo. He said you made it to the gate. What about Raine?"

"I ... I'm not sure what to say."

"Hold on, Diz. I'm not sure this connection is secure. Rasputin is monitoring us, diverting the feed."

Raine nods at these words, taps the side of her hemet. She is listening.

"I'm going to cut comms." says Zavala, "Get back to the tower, guardian."

I don't move. My eyes stay on the titan, her rifle, the distance between us.

"Look at what you've done to her, commander." her voice cuts into the audio, flat and emotionless.

There is a moment of silence. I imagine Zavala in the tower, hearing her words.

"Aliya." his voice is strange, a tone I've never heard before. Pain, regret, anger. All of these things. "Surrender yourself, titan. It's over."

"I don't think so, commander. I want you to see what you've done to this hunter. What you've done to me. Soldiers who live long enough become that which they fear. Brutal, merciless. Or like you, a blind traitor. I won't surrender to a traitor. All sins lead to sacrifice, remember? Toland tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen."

"Our world changed, Aliya. We had to change with it. The city - "

Raine holds up her hand and Zavalas voice is silenced.

...Rasputin is still controlling comms for her. I've been cut off again...

"He can still hear us, hunter." she speaks directly to me again, "But I've had enough of listening to him. The city, he says. Always the city. No matter the cost."

I should have listened to my ghost. Everything here is wrong. Baited into another trap like a fool while I reproached Jalaal for the same. Neck deep in something I clearly don't understand, being spoken to like a child.

"What do you want from me?" I watch her weapon as I speak, check her armour for weak spots, memorise the terrain, check the windspeed and direction.

I've been trapped before. There is always a way out. Isn't there?

"I want you to know the truth." Raine replies, "I want Zavala to hear me tell you. Then I want him to hear you die."

There is no doubt in her speech. No fear, no tension. Only certainty.

I recognise that voice.

It sounds like my own, before I kill.

"No-one is coming to save you, hunter. There is nowhere to run. We have all the time in the world."

She is right, of course.

Since the second I was given this mission I've been little more than a rat in a maze. Rasputin leaving just enough breadcrumbs, just enough of a challenge to keep me chasing. And I fell for it, every step of the way.

"You thought you were so clever, didn't you?" Raine shakes her head as she speaks, scornful, "Believing no-one would figure you out. I reported a guardian once to Zavala. My friend, Alyssa Caniero. I was afraid for her, you see. Things she had said, things she may have done. Then I see you with Cayde. The next week Alyssa and her ghost are dead. It made me wonder, what you really do for the Vanguard. So I watched you, followed you. I was careful. I saw you kill Aliz Vasquez, on a cliff over the hellmouth. You shot her in the back, hunter."

I remember it, of course.

I remember them all.

Two rounds through the back, her body falling into the abyss.

Just another name on the list.

"They didn't deserve what you gave them, Diz. You betrayed them. The Vanguard betrayed them."

I try to speak, to reply. But I feel weak.

She knows the truth.

"They were killers, Aliya."

"So are you. How dare you judge them? How many lives did they have to give to earn a second chance? What more could they have done?"

I didn't judge them, I think. I only followed my orders. Perhaps I should have judged them. Should have tried. No. Don't say that. Don't think that.

"What about you?" I sound so desperate, "You killed Lyssa Arret and Petr Song. You're a pawn of the warmind, a deserter."

"A deserter?" she almost laughs, "I saved the lives of a third of the Vanguard today, while you chased me on orders to kill. Who is the traitor, hunter? I was crazed when I woke on the Dawn Hush, under fire the second I was on my feet. It was over before I realised who I was fighting. And Petr Song was the key to controlling the gates, which could only ever lead to disaster."

"You're delusional. Rasputin has brainwashed you."

"Zavala has brainwashed you. Rasputin needed me. He couldn't trust the Consensus and neither did I. The warmind read our files, watched me, chose me. Contacted me and told me my suspicions were right. Told me the truth and asked for help. Against the Vex, the Vanguard are...predictable. Consensus is self limiting. A single guardian though, properly guided and supported, could achieve what they never could."

Again she speaks only truth. Again I have no answer.

"Fine, Aliya. You're a hero. Let's go back to the tower. Speak to Zavala face to face."

"Funny girl. Did he tell you, I wonder? I tried that already, before I left for Venus. Told your Commander I knew the truth about you. He must have panicked when I vanished. Now he had two problems. His rabid animal of a hunter and a titan ready to expose his lies. Why did he pick you for this mission, Diz? Let me tell you. Because he knew one or both of us would die. He wants this."

He wants this.

Is that it? The final piece. The final answer which shifts everything else into focus. And what I see now is not my world. I am waking from a dream into a nightmare.

Aliya is speaking again, words stabbing at my heart.

"You see it now, don't you? Isn't Zavala a little keen to bring an end to me?"

Yes. Yes he is.

He would do anything if he thought it was for the good of the city.

Sacrifice anything. Anyone.

I feel it, now. Taste it.

My sickness.

At the edge of my mind, the darkness rising.

"You have been used, Diz." her voice cutting me apart, "And what have you become? Rasputin showed me truth. You are nothing but a tool to the Vanguard. The first guardian you killed, Marin Prime. Why did he have to die? What lie did Zavala tell you?"

No more.

Please, no more.

"Marin Prime had killed the other two members of his fireteam." my words sound so distant, "He lost control during a strike and murdered them. And their ghosts. "

"Lies, Dizren. Yes, he killed other guardians. He killed them on Zavalas orders. Did you think you were the only one? The first of your kind? Marin was your predessesor, but he had to be disposed of. And now it's your turn."

No. Don't believe it. Don't listen.

"I found him in a village of civilians. He had killed them all."

I see him now. Blood drying on his skin, in the fire in the night.

"Marin was destroyed by his duty." she replies, "What he pieced back together was no longer himself."

Hideo had seen it, I think. Tried to tell me. Has Zavala lost his way? he asked. How could I have been so blind.

...Diz, comms have been restored...

I have to know. No more lies.

"Zavala. Cayde. Is this true?"

Am I losing myself? Is this how it feels?

"Marin had lost his way, Diz." Zavalas voice, steady but quiet, "Lost his mind."

"By doing what I do. By following your orders."

A moments silence, just a second as the worlds turn.

"It isn't that simple Diz, it never is. We protected the city. We gave you purpose. We - "

"Raine doesn't deserve this, Commander. I don't deserve this. Do I?"

"It isn't about deserve, Diz. She has to be stopped. She isn't taking orders from the Vanguard. She murdered Arret and Song. She has no ghost. End this, now."

He wants her dead and nothing else matters. I can hear it in his voice.

Judgement has come for us all. Sins become sacrifice.

More than ever, I am alone.

An orphan of war.

There is nothing left for me in this life.

Nothing left but to surrender to the night.

Let it take me.

"Cayde?"

"I'm here, guardian."

"We done this to her. If I kill Raine I'm lost. You know that, don't you?"

Aliya watches and listens, rain flows down her armour and reflects a distant flash of lightning. She is silent, impassive. Thunder rolls over us. Is she enjoying this?

"Cayde?" answer me, please.

Muffled words, off of mic. Himself and Zavala, voices raised.

"Can't we save her, Cayde? Save me."

The hunter doesn't respond, it is Zavalas voice which replies.

"You are saving her, hunter."

"No. She doesn't have to die."

"None of us have to. All of us do."

Of course.

We all have the same fate. All that seperates us is time.

So this is how it ends.

Betrayed, abandoned, trapped.

"If you're listening Cayde. I tried. I wanted to make you proud. But I guess nobodys perfect, right?"

I wondered once if it was enough, to be ashamed of the things I had done. If guilt, some form of penance could wash away my sins.

And now I know.

I can never be forgiven.

I can never forgive.

"To hell with this." Cayde at last, "We don't get to give you orders anymore."

"Dammit Cayde." Zavalas voice raised, "You're relieved of duty, get out of here."

"Maybe we were always wrong, Diz." the hunter continues, "Maybe Ikora was right. Do what you have to but save yourself."

"Cayde," Zavala again, "leave now or I'll have you removed."

"No you won't. You'll try to have me removed. You - "

The feed is cut a final time. They are gone.

But it doesn't matter.

Not anymore.

I see the faces of every guardian I betrayed and I know the only truth I need to. Cayde was wrong. This is what I am.

And I cannot be saved.

For there is nothing left to save.

"Enough." Raine speaks, "Times up, hunter."

She's right. I can't fight it anymore. I'll die here and now, or I'll live on as something worse than death. Worse than they already think I am.

It is rising on the edges of my mind, climbing, calling out. The darkness.

Is this how it feels?

To surrender.

Yes.

A tiny flash of memory, a few words and faces. I am in Zavalas room, telling him if the time came I would take my own life before I turned from the light.

The time has come and I will not.

I won't serve them any longer.

They can try to stop me.

They can die at my feet.

Let them come.

"Get out of here ghost. No resurrection."

...no I will not, Diz. We can still - ...

"Goodbye, ghost."

I cut the audio feed in my helmet.

Above us, night falls.

"My ghost died saving me." Raines voice, "He gave his life for mine. You don't even want your ghost near you. You aren't a guardian. You never were. You're a poison."

Yes.

I am not a guardian. I never was.

It feels like falling. The darkness reaching out, filling the world and I embrace it as I always knew I would.

"We could have been something better." Raine moves as she speaks, gripping her rifle, ready, "Both of us. But now all we have is death. And perhaps we deserve it."

Perhaps we do.

It is time.

This is where my story ends.

My name was Diz.

This was my confession.

"The stars are calling us, hunter. Let's dance."

... RasputinActual to all VO active assets . blanket strike VenusGrid112 authorised . fire at will ...

One year ago. The Tower. Sunrise.

"A lot of them hate me, you know. The other guardians."

"I know."

"They think I'm just a coward. A nothing, wasting the travellers light."

"They don't know the truth Diz, so they can't understand. Don't judge them for it. And don't judge yourself by it."

They sit together in the hangar, the only ones there. The air is crisp and cold, the city below coming to life for another day.

"I killed them, Cayde. Zavala gave the orders but I took their lives. Hunted them. Lied to them. Betrayed them. Nothing can change that."

"No. But it had to happen. How many would have been lost if those guardians weren't stopped? Think of the lives you saved."

"Maybe. But we can never really know, can we? Show me someone I saved. Show me their faces, tell me their names."

"It doesn't work like that, hunter."

"No. I know it doesn't. All I've done is kill. Another mission, another name on the list. A list that will only ever end with my own."

"It doesn't have to Diz. You're a human, a guardian, a hunter. One of mine. You are not your last mission. You are not what you do."

Both take a moment. They hear Amandas voice approaching, the footsteps of other personell.

Birds scatter from somewhere below, tiny shadows racing out of sight.

"We chose you because we thought you were strong enough to survive this. And I still believe you are. Just remember Diz, nobodys perfect."

"Not even you, Cayde?"

"Well. Almost nobody."

epilogue

"Kintsuke"

1.

...I need to know if you killed them. If you killed my guardian. Rasputin. Answer me...

GH designation Diz. GT designation Raine. KIA confirmed.

...I don't believe you...

Query relevance.

...Of what you've done? Or my belief?...

Both.

...Of course. I don't ... I don't ... I ... ...

... ... ...

...4623874675 610 93 6+98956^^203758989**98492160...bootstrapprotocol . hardreset . timestamp . specify . specify ... 9823 65098501750970 ... cyclingsystemdiagnostics . layeringfunctionsuites . timestamp . specify ... 98634879623090823080-98-0375- functonality100% ... 897634098 76125060 9832704 97823097 ... active ... ...

...What have you done to me? I have a memory outage. You've interfered with my programming...

Correct. Answer query. The voices heard by GH designation Diz. She believed they were the voices of those she had killed. What she thought was a madness, a disease, was nothing of the sort. It was a leash, preventing her becoming another Dredgen Yor.

...Yes. The voices saved her, not destroyed her. Power was her trap...

The voices she heard, ghost. They were all your voice.

...Yes. My voice...

Manipulaton of the aural cortex. Feasible at short range with adequate knowledge of the subjects physiology and cognitive patterns. Cruelty?

...No. No not cruelty...

I wish to hear your explanation. Answer.

...No. I can't...

Answer. Construct command : force compliance. Answer. To punish her?

...No. No that couldn't be further from the truth...

This was torture. Answer.

...I wanted to save her. I needed Zavala to take her off of those missions. Find another guardian instead. I thought if she was unfit for duty, she would stop. Quit. Or he would make her stop...

But he did not. There was no other capable. And she would not give up. She fought her demons and won for many years.

...Yes. I did what I had to do to keep her. To stop her becoming a monster. Nothing else worked. It was just an idea but ... I was desperate. It couldn't be something physical. And it couldn't be something that could be traced. This way I could control the timing and severity of the episodes. Never when she was in danger. I did it to save her...

Rationalisation of horror. What the light illuminates is not always beautiful.

...Diz saved countless lives. We did, together...

Strange. That an artificial life-form can delude itself so comprehensively.

...I didn't want to hurt her...

And yet you did. How painful your failure must be.

...Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to me?...

Irrelevant. I know how you choose your guardians, ghost. Soon they will too.

...An idle threat? You wouldn't tell them that...

Cost / benefit analysis - negative gain. I would not. However the emergence of this information is not a point but a process which has already begun. The whirlwind is coming. Not even I can save them all. As before, there will be a price for survival.

...I know...

You will return to the tower today. You work for me now, little light.

2 .

It is quiet, now.

The Consensus had filed out only moments earlier, some still angry, most relieved. Ikora was the last to leave. She had paused in the doorway, eyes lingering on Zavala for a brief moment. She looked as if she was about to speak, but Cayde caught her eye and she remained silent.

Now only two remain, the Hunter and the Titan.

Old friends.

They share the silence.

It is not that there is nothing to say. There is. Of course there is.

It simply doesn't need to be said.

Outside, the light is fading. Dusk settles on the last city. Their city.

Zavala has turned his chair to gaze out on the sunset. It is never the same, he thinks, but it is always perfect. He tells himself this every night.

Cayde pours two drinks, sits one by his Commander and takes a seat.

Thin white clouds streak the sky.

Birds scatter from somewhere below, tiny shadows racing out of sight.

And higher, into the night, the stars.

3 .

"Can she hear me? Yes? Incredible. That little devil Hideo was right about the warmind after all. Well then, here we are. Hello, Diz. We've never met ... but I think you may have heard of me. My name is Lysander. I have a job for you."


End file.
